Where The Wild Things Are

by MarionLuth

When Sam & Dean investigate a young singer, who shares their Winchester name & face, their lives collide. And...she's hiding a dangerous secret. A Supernatural dramedy deeply developed & richly written, with strong canon characters. Angels, demons, the earth's only Nephilim, Lucifer, Crowley, Jody Mills, Claire, Alex, the boys & a teen girl with the heart of an angel. Spanking.

34. I Was Never Meant to Fight On My Own

A/N: Hello everyone!

This is a big chapter...bear with us. We are wrapping up what feels like an entire season of Supernatural, so our episodes are going to be packed from now on. Just grab yourself a deep amber bourbon, settle in, and enjoy this over a long, indulgent read or several sittings. More bourbon.

So, Jody brought Amber back to the bunker and now has to face her brothers. Not having her safe, and not knowing where she was, nearly broke them. Men feel their job is to fix things, protect the people they love, you know, be annoyingly loving. Lol. So, just imagine them not able to do ANY of this. Broken men!

But now Amber IS safe and back in the bunker...misguided action leads to a needed course correction.

Shout out to fellow writer, Harlequinn, for her continued encouragement and back channel on a great Bourbon Podcast her friend produces.

Franki3W, we always look forward to your long, thoughtful reviews. Thx for your dedication to 'stream of consciousness.'

Pralines03, "No balls, No babies." Thanks for stepping out of your comfort zone and reviewing. Your strength of fortitude shows. For us you did this.

Welcome to Shazza19, gaben, Salice89, Artemis1964, KittyRama, and EchoMoment for finding our story and reviewing. Thx for all your reviews.

As always, Sueturpen, Son-Princess, Tamilyn313, sjwmaw, and Elliesamdeangirl for your steadfast presence here. As always, welcome back.

And to Ponygirlrunner25... you are in our thoughts as you endure one medical issue after another, yet you keep reviewing our work. If we are able to provide you even a moment of respite from pain, this gives us purpose. God, we deeply 'Wish You Well'...for real.

And we carry on...

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Chapter 34

I Was Never Meant To Fight On My Own

Title credit: Lyrics from the song "On my own" by Ashes Remain (Album: What I've Become, 2011)

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"No! End of discussion."

"Jody, you're being unreasonable. I could…."

"I said, No! We've been over this already. Not happening."

"You're pushing 30 hours without sleep! How can me driving be any more dangerous than you driving? You can easily rest for a few hours and then we can change again," Amber was trying this gambit for the fourth time, her tone just as frustrated as Jody's.

She was feeling guilty about how tired the woman looked and they both knew they had a good 10 hours of driving still ahead.

Looking over at Amber, Jody's expression of frustrated exhaustion was getting a second wind with this emotional argument. While she was very tired, she needed to keep driving. Perhaps stopping for the night would be prudent. She could certainly call Dwight and ask him to call in more of their team for a few shifts to cover her. This was always part of the department's adjustment strategy. But Amber driving her police cruiser…..God, why did this girl think this was a good idea?

"Jody, there's no reason for you to exhaust yourself this much!"

"I wouldn't have to, if you hadn't decided to haul ass to Reno in the first place! I can't let you drive a police car. I already explained why. You're a civilian. On top of this you haven't slept since we left Tyler's place, either and I'm not sure if all that alcohol is completely out of your system yet, so stop pushing this!"

"Augh!" Letting out a punctuated breath, Amber was upset at how useless she felt. And honestly, she was feeling guilty at how 'done in' Jody looked.

Jody knew that her own exhaustion, and both her and Amber's frustration would only get worse the longer they kept driving, so she made the call.

"We're stopping at the next motel we spot and we'll both get some rest for a few hours. How does that sound for a compromise?"

"Good! You need some sleep."

"I need some sleep? I need 'some cooperation and less argument' is what I need."

"I AM cooperating. I'm still in the car, am I not?" Amber mumbled annoyed, eyes drifting out of her window.

Jody heard this but managed to keep quiet. She had quite a few words for Amber right then, but she knew there was little point in turning this into a full-blown fight. This argument was resembling some of the circular quarrels she'd had with Claire. Seemed that both girls had a tenacity for pushing buttons. Sighing deeply, she was feeling for Sam and Dean.

Amber could see and feel the images and emotions coming from the sheriff. Some made her very uncomfortable with how they were mixing up present time and old memories...particularly, with images of the highway they were on intertwining with past police and hunting incidents having random images of Jody's husband and son sorted into this playing deck of memories.

And the spiking of Jody's anger being interspersed with Jody's self talk, which Amber was surprised she could hear this. Jody kept reminding herself that Amber was coming from a dysfunctional background and hadn't had many good examples to learn from. Actually hearing Jody say this to herself, to keep her temper in check, felt angering and humiliating to Amber. In her own mind, Amber wasn't a problem, especially not to Jody. She was being 'practical'...which was not true.

Amber was tired, in need of sleep, and being irrational. Even before they'd left Reno, petty arguments about where to hide the warding sigils drawn inside the cruiser had started this. Their quarreling had progressed to when to stop to eat and get gas...with the girl eventually fixating on her deep need to 'help' by driving the cruiser. To top it all off, Amber didn't have a license. Forty minutes of revisiting this argument had worn them both thinner than they would normally be under similar circumstances.

And Jody was seeing how the Winchester men could easily get to where they had few options with this girl. Not happening on her watch, but she could see how popping this kid on the backside would be very, very tempting. Was Amber always like this?

Sneaking a glance at Amber, Jody was considering if this childish behavior was coming from Amber's emotional state or fear. She hadn't seen this side to her before. Amber, seeing the images and thoughts coming from Jody, felt exposed and embarrassed by this. Jody's thoughts of how she was beginning to feel her brothers were justified in taking a heavy hand with her...well this brought Amber up short and she fell into a sullen silence.

A big, tacky sign down the road caught Jody's attention, breaking up her rumination. Slowing down as she approached it, she could read the dimly-lit 'Vacancies' at the bottom of the plastic sign. It didn't look particularly appealing, but it would have to do. They'd only need a bed for a few hours after all. Pulling off of the road, and into the motel's parking lot, Jody parked the car near the front office and brought two hands to rub at her face.

Turning to look at Amber, she noticed her sitting rigidly, looking more sullen and disgruntled than a few minutes ago. Deciding there was little point in attempting to cajole her into a lighter mood, Jody simply opened her door, stepping out of the car and stretched her hands over her head, relieving some of the tension between her shoulder-blades and lower back.

"C'mon, Amber. Let's go check in," she prompted at the still-sitting girl.

"No, I'll just sit here while you check in."

Considering the warding on the police car, this may be just as well.

"Suit yourself."

Closing the door and heading into the office, Jody left Amber. The locks automatically clicked shut as Jody walked away. Initially, this feature startled Amber, but now she saw the perfection of it. Sealed in, locked away from escape. Traveling long distances in a police car felt like being in lockdown...with scenery.

Returning to the car, Jody unlocked the doors and pointed to the room they had for the next few hours. Lugging herself from rest to movement felt like a herculean effort, and Amber's body language told Jody the girl was perhaps even more ground down than even she was. Stopping had been a good call.

The room smelled moist and odd, like that combination of rotting wallpaper paste, stale cigarette smoke and old carpeting.

"Why don't you jump in the shower first?" Jody prompted.

"No… You go. I'll ward the room and go second," Amber declined more curtly than Jody would've like.

Sharpie out, Amber was already looking for places to hide the demon warding sigils. Jody saw this, and reckoned this was good. She saw Amber's attempts to strategically hide them and voiced no opposition to any of this. This had been the same way they'd warded her cruiser...and presumably Ty's family home.

Not in a mood to argue, and seeing the logic behind this, Jody watched Amber moving around the room as she installed warding before turning her back to the girl and walking to the bathroom. Part of her was nervous about the possibility of Amber fleeing, yet again, and this time under her watch. Yet, given the circumstances, there was nothing she could do to stop this from happening. Not with Amber able to vanish in less than a second if she decided to. As hard as it was, she could do nothing but hope and trust that she wouldn't.

Ten minutes later she stepped out of the bathroom, fresh from the shower in just her shirt and underwear, using a towel to dry her hair. Amber had finished with the sigil drawings. Getting to her feet as soon as Jody emerged from the bathroom, Amber was assessing Jody's mood and images. Nothing significant there. They didn't exchange a word, as the girl moved to the warm, humid bathroom to take her turn in showering the last couple days of life off of her.

Moving to one of the twin beds, Jody collapsed onto it. Reaching for her phone, that she'd plugged into the charger on the nightstand, she composed a quick text to let Alex know they had stopped for a few hours of sleep. When she hit the send button, she went to her call log and called Dean who, as expected, answered before the first ring had even finished.

"Everything okay?" he asked, not bothering with a greeting.

"Everything's fine. We stopped to grab a few hours of sleep and wanted to let you know. We're in Rock Springs, Wyoming. We're about 10 hours away and will probably hit the road again in five or six hours," Jody reported, letting out a big yawn at the end.

"How's Amber holding up?" Dean's voice held a tone of cautious inquiry. Jody read his meaning.

"Not well. Honestly Dean, she's been argumentative the entire trip. I've never seen her like this before."

"Dammit… I'm sorry she's being difficult, Jody. I'm sorry you're going through this whole thing for her. But we appreciate it. You need me to call her and straighten her out?"

"No, Dean, don't do that. I doubt it would fix anything. We'll sort this out on our own. And I don't mind getting her, and driving her back. You've done stuff like this for Claire. More than once. It's just…"

Here Jody was glancing at the walls, trying to think of a way to describe what she was feeling.

"It's just that she's acting so young, so immature. I've never seen her like this before. She was so good and even-tempered when she was with us in Sioux Falls. This is a shock."

Jody heard Dean let out a deep sigh...and she knew he'd been there with her before.

"Yeah. She can get like this. Sam calls this her, 'backed-into-a-corner' defense...or some crap like that."

"Huh." Jody was considering this statement. Sam was usually spot on about Amber. She'd come to respect Sam's intuition regarding this kid. Regarding many things, actually. And with this piece of insight, her wheels were turning. She was thinking about this a bit differently now.

"Anyway, you get your rest and don't hesitate to chew her out. She knows to behave herself when she's with you. We'll add this to the long list of things she and I need to sort out."

"Oh, believe me, she's been chewed out!"Taking a breath in between sentences, Jody was feeling tired just reviewing their discussions. Dean heard this and could relate.

"I have a bit more sympathy for you and Sam and how you have to come down hard on her sometimes. Still...not my way, but I get it."

Changing the subject, Dean added, "Those wardings working to keep you off the radar?"

"Yeah. Working just fine. It's very calm, at least demon-activity-wise. Amber did a good job and now...well, I have a protected space on wheels. Speaking of this Dean, does Amber have an anti-possession tattoo?"

"Sam and I talked about it. Amber even suggested this, but we're not sure it wouldn't just heal over...like all of her other injuries."

"Huh. Ok, I can see how this might happen. Being a nephilim, is this even a consideration? I mean, can a nephilim even be possessed?"

"Don't know. Cas hasn't said anything about this. It's occurred to us and so far, I'd say it's not an issue. There's something about her grace that has a warding of its own. Something like this. Still not completely sure how this works, but it's been of concern for a while. Anyway, we can discuss this at the bunker. Call us when you're underway again. Glad you stopped for some rest. And Jody...thanks for this."

Her heart opening wide at Dean's words, Jody was sincerely happy to be of help to them. It was her pleasure and pride to reciprocate the help they'd given her over the years.

"Any time Dean. Hanging up now."

Snapping the phone shut, Dean was mulling over everything that had happened in the last two days. And Amber was being a pain-in-the-ass to Jody? This was not unusual overall, but he knew for a fact, Amber was generally very cooperative with this woman. Jody was great with Amber...and Claire...and Alex for that matter. Then again, Dean also knew for a fact Amber would feel worried about what to expect back at the bunker. Being testy and challenging was probably her way of coping with that. He'd have to talk to Sam about this. He was the one who could figure their sister and her erratic behaviors out.

Well, he didn't have the bandwidth to process this right now. He knew he and Amber were going to have a serious talk about all of this. Scrubbing at his face with both hands, he wasn't looking forward to any of this. His worry and fear were settling, allowing his anger and disappointment to gradually build in this displacement. A stray thought interrupted his trainwreck of an internal dialog: When was Cas going to call. Had he found Kelly? Dammit...there were too many things for him to be thinking about right now.

And he needed to update Sam.

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Feeling a shift in the atmosphere, Cas could feel his presence. They would confer soon.

Approaching him, Cas saw Kelvin and Hozai materialize near the end of the block. They were nearly at his location outside of the house. Their faces were those of tight obedience. Castiel considered he must have borne the same facial must have been how humans perceived him when he first walked among them. Duly noted.

"Kelvin, you brought Hozai."

Hozai, in his crisp suit stood next to Kelvin, a senior angel from his department. Up against Dagon, Kelvin would have preferred a more experienced angel, but their ranks had been thinned and Hozai was all he had to draw upon.

Opening his trenchcoat and reaching inside an inner pocket, Cas partially withdrew the Colt.

"The Winchesters gave me this to kill Dagon. And there are only two bullets remaining."

Kelvin assessed the Colt. This magical weapon was known to the angels. It had gone off their radar, with heaven becoming aware of it again when John Winchester had come into ownership of it.

"Is the vessel inside?"

"She is."

"We will go in through the front door. I wish to shatter any conception that Dagon can hide from us."

Kelvin was a bit of a hothead among the angels, punching and demanding his will be carried out. Subtly was unknown here...and hadn't been needed. He was the master of his domain, or at least he had been back when his domain was populated by other angels to have dominion over. Now, well, he had dominion over very few these days.

"We only have two bullets," Castiel repeated. In an effort to make Kelvin see his intimidation plan was risky.

"Yes. So you had better not miss," Kelvin replied. "One for Dagon and one for the vessel. That was the deal."

Realising this could work for his benefit, Cas changed his course of persuasion. "Yes. I understand."

Cas did understand. He understood how thin the likelihood of this explosive approach 'going-to-plan' was and in fact was set on only half of this plan being carried out: His half.

And if he managed to survive, his half would be the only plan that mattered. And it would buy them time with heaven.

Inside, Dagon was sitting in the recliner she'd been in since taking up guard duty. The TV was blaring on some drivel...Maury Povich was revealing someone's 'baby-daddy' and the chairs were getting ready to fly. 'Comfort food' for a demon.

Door bursting open, a searing light created a halo of the stabbing helios arc around the perimeter of the door as it flew inward off of its hinges, thunderously splintering the room and scattering it with debris.

Dagon was already on her feet as if she'd been anticipating their arrival. She hadn't, but her skill and reflexes were superior in any fight. Kelvin and Hozai ran into the room. Colt in hand, Cas launched himself towards Dagon, the gun leveled chest-high at the demon.

Dagon, smiling, simply inclined her head lifting Castiel off his feet and throwing him against the furthest wall, the impact causing him to drop the Colt. Turning her attention to the onslaughting Hozai, Dagon easily disarmed him, using Hozai's own blade to kill him.

"Get to the vessel, I'll hold her off," Kelvin sent to Castiel's mind, as he slowly approached the sickly smiling demon.

Cas, grunting in pain, managed to grab the Colt and get to his feet. Dagon saw him, but before she had the chance to attack him again, Kelvin was lunging for her and her attention was diverted.

Using the power he had left, Castiel rushed down the hall, following the sense of Kelly's presence. The sounds of fighting told him Kelvin was still holding up against Dagon, but he knew all too well he wouldn't last long. Finally reaching the door to the bedroom, he slammed it opened, urgently scanning the interior.

In what looked like a bedroom, Kelly lay supine, arms above her head, chained to the bed frame by handcuffs. She looked pale and tired.

"Castiel," she managed in a shocked but hopeful voice.

"I'm here to help you," the angel reassured her as he rushed to the bed. Not seeing the keys of the handcuffs anywhere around him, he drew his angel blade.

"Keep your arms still," he instructed Kelly.

The woman's eyes enlarged and she let out a scream as Castiel brought the blade down on the chain connecting the two cuffs together. As he expected, this did the trick with the handcuffs, breaking them apart with a metallic clink. Reaching for Kelly, Cas helped her up and off the bed. This was all done with flashing expediency.

Kelly's sudden scream of "Look out!" barely registered, as Dagon rushed into the room, fury and hate on her face. And then it happened. Cas felt it before he could even realize what was going on. An intense wave of energy, invigorating and powerful, coursed through Kelly's arm, which he still held, and into his own. Travelling like a strong current throughout his body, Cas felt this powerful upsurge of energy. It was magnificent!

Simply reacting, he used his free hand to grab hold of Dagon's as it was fast approaching his throat. The moment his fist clasped around Dagon's wrist, her smile melted off her face, a horrified expression replacing it.

Castiel watched as her hand turned fiery red in a matter of seconds, before it burst into flames, flames that engulfed the demon's whole body as she collapsed screaming to the floor. Panting, and not entirely sure of what had just happened, Castiel watched as one of the most powerful demons that had ever walked the earth met its demise in front of him, by his own hand, but not by his own power.

The once-powerful Dagon was reduced to nothing more than a pile of ashes on the floor. Castiel returned his attention to Kelly.

"Are you alright?" He asked, concerned and confused.

Kelly looked shocked and horrified but managed to nod, her brown eyes huge, mouth dipping open in shock.

"We need to get out of here immediately," Castiel told her. "This place will be swarming with demons and angels before long. We cannot risk you getting caught in the crossfire."

Again, nodding, her eyes open and trusting, Kelly allowed Cas to assist her. The calm demeanour of this vessel inspired such faith in Cas. He also felt the same steadfast calm coming from the child she carried. This was not what he had expected.

Keeping her steady as they passed through the now empty house, Cas supported her shaky gait. He spotted the dead bodies of both angels, laying on the living room floor. With a mixture of sorrow and relief, he kept walking towards his car, helping Kelly inside. They had made it.

"Where are we going?" Kelly's serene voice held a magic of it's own...the kind humans wielded everyday. This rapturous quietude of being. Cas was continuously amazed with the light he found shining in humans that his father had imbued into them.

"I'm taking you to a safe place. I have friends there."

"And my baby? Will my baby be safe there, too?"

And here was the fork in the road. Cas had been assisted by this nephilim child, still in the womb, to kill Dagon. This child had helped him kill his father's most loyal servant. This nephilim was a powerful being. A frightfully powerful being. And a being who had helped him, had protected him and Kelly.

His ambivalence about the nephilim's nature had been there for a while. Each time he found himself around Kelly it was reinforced, but now it was a certainty. A certainty he knew he shared with only two other people. Kelly and Amber. This being was good. Or at the very least, not evil. Cas decided Amber had been right all along and he would now protect Kelly's baby.

"Yes. Your baby will be safe there, too."

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Pushing open the heavy garage door, Amber led Jody inside. Standing downstairs were Sam, Dean and Claire. Texting their progress as they drove, Jody had let them know when she'd entered the county.

Quiet, her energy pulled in, Amber was feeling sheepish even as she was feeling relieved to be back. The warding on the cruiser had been highly effective, but by comparison the layers upon layers of protection, warding and sigils made the bunker feel so much more reassuring.

"Hey boys. We're back." Jody's cheerful voice stated the obvious as she slightly lifted the tense, skittish atmosphere upon this charged reunion.

Sensing Amber's hesitance, Jody reached out and rubbed Amber's back reassuringly. Allowing Amber to take this at her own pace, Jody went ahead of her, descending the stairs first, approaching Dean, who immediately gave her a solid hug.

"Oof! Dean, you're hugging the stuffing out of me." Jody was on her tippy toes, caught up by Dean's 6'1" embrace.

"Thanks for bringing her home safe, Jody."

"You keep bringing back my Ray of Sunshine, I'll keep bringing back yours," Jody smiled at him as they broke the embrace.

Amber watched the interaction from the top of the stairs as she was trying to get her feet moving. Feeling everyone's attention shifting to her, she finally climbed down the stairs, letting her backpack drop next to her on the floor as she stood a few steps behind Jody.

The three siblings were quiet among themselves, so many emotions bending and twining. Amber saw their feelings and thoughts. They were so relieved to have her home, their hearts held this low glow of white light coming from the center of their chests. She'd never seen that before. And they were so angry she'd just left, risking so much, scaring them so badly. One image leaked from Dean's subconscious of him strangling Amber just to a point, with him reining in his own upset and knowing he really didn't wish to do this. Unaware Amber was seeing this visualization of his anger, it was an awkward greeting.

Taking a step forward, Sam decided to break this stalemate, walking forward with a relieved smile on his face, arms raised to show his meaning as he offered her an embrace. Amber saw this, smiling a crooked smile as she was engulfed in his huge hug.

No words were said. Actions were the balm on this still-tender reunion.

Dean stepped closer to Amber. When she was released from Sam's hug, he stepped into place sweeping her up in an enormous hug, tightening his arms around this little sister who drove him nuts. It felt good and Amber reciprocated, happy to be back. Whispering in her ear, Dean didn't wish to have this greeting misinterpreted.

"You and I are gonna have a little talk. Happy you're safe."

Sam could tell exactly when Dean had passed along his message because in real-time he saw Amber's body stiffen, her face tighten up into stoic protection. Analyzing his sister, Sam figured she was anticipating a 'debriefing' and she was correct. His memory drifting to Amber's running away episodes.

Claire watched this, too and felt a bit of sympathy. From Claire's experience it wasn't like Amber to just run, so something big must have caused her to leave. Of course, Claire didn't know anything about Amber's early ''adjustments' to living with her brothers.

And then it was Claire's turn, with Jody coming in for a side hug, her arm draped over Claire's shoulder, squeezing her affectionately. Scanning the three siblings, Jody figured this was the hardest part. They'd get through it.

"Kind of weird when it's not you in big trouble, huh?" Jody winked at Claire, and this just caused the blonde to roll her eyes. Yes, in fact it was kinda weird.

Sam knew everything would get dealt with from here onward. Right now...Jody needed rest and they needed to eat.

"OK, everyone. I got dinner ready. Let's head to the kitchen," Sam announced. Addressing Jody and Amber next he added, "I'm sure both of you are tired and hungry."

"Starving," Jody confirmed and started walking towards where she remembered the kitchen was, followed closely by Sam.

Claire stayed behind and eyed Dean, raising an eyebrow. Getting the message, Dean glanced at Amber before following his brother and the sheriff, leaving the two girls alone.

Claire waited a few seconds before walking up to Amber, stopping right in front of her, arms crossed in front of her chest. Her body language screamed uncomfortable, but Amber could tell Claire was relieved to see her safe and back in the bunker.

"Bitchy move," was Claire's unexpected words.

Amber gaped at her surprised. "What?"

"Dude, if you're leaving this place, you tell me! I needed some air too, you know!"

Smirking and shaking her head, Amber reached out and hugged Claire tightly, thankful for the blonde's attitude and how it dissolved the tension of her return.

"Promise to take you with me next time," she vowed as she released her friend.

Claire smiled back and nodded. "Glad you're safe," she added.

"I'm a tough cookie," was Amber's nonchalant reply.

"And a stupid one."

Amber was quiet at Claire's remark because...well, it hit too close to home and was true. And she had a lot to deal with after this one decision. But her leaving the bunker had made complete sense to her...at the time.

And now she knew about Kyle. Oh, god, what was she going to say about Kyle? All this went through Amber's mind in a split second as Claire stood there...and was none the wiser.

Coming into the war room, Dean was checking on Amber and Claire...which, unbeknownst to them, he actually hadn't let out of his sight. Standing off to the side, he'd kept an eye on them and made sure no one left the bunker. Giving them their sense of privacy allowed him to see their true intentions...and he was quite surprised to see that neither girl even attempted to leave. He hadn't been sure if this would be the case.

Coming to stand next to his brother, Sam was looking on at the two girls, having understood what Dean was doing. Looking at each other, they got more from this concealed observation than an hour of interrogation would have yielded; Amber felt she belonged here and Jody bringing her back was aligned with her own understanding. Perhaps not so eloquently, but Dean got why Amber allowed herself to be brought back.

Exchanging a look with his brother, Sam quietly returned to the kitchen and Jody.

Entering the War room, Dean made his presence known.

"Hey, you two coming in to eat?"

Both girls looked at him and quietly started to walk towards the kitchen. Brushing past him in the hallway, Dean placed a hand on Amber's shoulder as she passed by. Looking up at him, Amber saw her brother's calmer expression and felt his emotion...of how he was deeply relieved she was safe. He was happy to have her home.

Rather than shake off his touch, Amber allowed this connection as Dean kept his hand on her shoulder, guiding her towards the kitchen. Claire saw this and briefly flashed with jealousy that Dean wasn't so concerned about her, that he didn't have his hand on her shoulder. Amber felt this, but at that moment, there was nothing to do about it. Amber had her own emotions to sort through.

Walking towards the kitchen, it still blew her mind how less than six months back she had nobody in the world, except perhaps Ty, and now she had two brothers, a surrogate mom, and an annoying sort-of-sister.

It was surreal...and comforting at the same time.

With the table already set, Jody was dishing up a ground beef and noodle concoction that looked to be extended by several cans of tomatoes, corn, green beans and, by the brown gravy appearance, bouillon cubes. Keeping himself busy as he waited for Ambers' return, Dean had made a dish Bobby had thrown together often to feed the boys when they visited. Bachelor food was what he'd called it. It would suffice.

Claire and Amber headed to sit down, each taking a seat on either side of Jody. Looking from one girl to the other, Jody assessed their general mental state and they appeared subdued but accepting. Glancing up at the brothers, Jody made meaningful eye contact. The two men had nothing to add, so they simply returned her glance with the slightest of shoulder shrugs that they, too, were waiting and watching.

The meal was quiet albeit not unpleasant. Nobody tried to make small talk. Amber was too emotionally thin. It felt to Jody as if they were all treading carefully so as not to spook a nervous doe, one that could disappear in an instant if she felt threatened. How would they manage this in the future? If Amber could now teleport out of any difficult situation, what was stopping her from leaving when she had to face the music?

This very thought was running through both Sam and Dean's minds, too.

Claire, feeling annoyed at all this tension decided she'd had enough of this. Turning to Amber, Claire leveled her with an inquiring look.

"So, you slept over with two guys. What was that like?"

Dean choked and started sputtering like he'd had an apoplectic wrench thrown in between his mental gears, immediate and shocking. Sam looked intensely uncomfortable, glaring at Claire. Jody, sighing deeply, placed an elbow on the table, her hand going to cover her eyes. God, this girl. Always with the social bombs.

Claire, having achieved her goal, smirked, eyes mischievous. Scowling at the blonde, Amber was caught off guard. They all were. And Amber's silence, even in her own stunned shock, wasn't disavowing anyone of this possibility. Her silence left it up to each person to interpret this for themselves. Unfortunately, Dean was judging her by himself. Seed planted, they were talking about this later.

They were DEFINITELY talking about this later.

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"I am glad Amber is safe, Dean. I have some good news too…Yes. Kelly is with me. She is safe… Yes, I'm bringing her to the bunker. You should expect us in a few hours."

Kelly, sitting rigidly in the passenger seat, her hand laid discreetly on her belly, listened to Castiel's as he spoke on the phone. 'Dean.' She remembered that name. He was the handsome man that she met when Crowley first found and abducted her. He didn't look particularly friendly or concerned for her child, she remembered that. Castiel had told her a few hours ago that she'd be safe where he was taking her. Both her and the baby. She didn't trust that Dean guy, but Jack was making it clear, through their unique line of communication, that she was to trust Castiel.

"Yes, I will. I understand...Yes, of course. Perhaps. Goodbye, Dean."

Castiel snapped his phone shut and continued driving. Being an angelic being, Castiel could talk on the phone and drive safely. Lapsing into silence, Castiel sensed Kelly wished to know what lay ahead for her and her baby at the end of their destination. A fair question, for sure.

"I'm taking you to a place that is safe for you and your baby. It has special protections to keep out Lucifer and any demonic presence."

Glancing at Castiel, Kelly wondered what such a place would be like. Was this a shrine, or a church?

"It is an underground library and home. Sort of like a consulate for the study of the supernatural. The Theosophical Society has one similar to this in England. We refer to it as the bunker. It has wardings to keep out evil."

Castiel was reading Kelly's thoughts and it was a bit unnerving for the woman. Informative, but unnerving.

"Does it have wardings for those living inside, too?" Kelly asked pointedly, worry slipping into her tone.

"Yes."

Well, that cleared things up...but not really. Curious and apprehensive, after everything she'd been through, Kelly had so many more questions streaming through her mind.

"Is that man, Dean, going to be there?" Was her next question.

Castiel glanced at her and took a few seconds to assess her emotions before replying.

"It is his and his brother's home. They will be there. But you do not need to worry. They will not harm you, Kelly."

"It's not me I'm concerned about, Castiel."

"I know Dean was quite insistent on how dangerous your son could potentially be… Possibly he still hasn't changed his mind about that. But I have and I will make sure he does, too. Me and his sister."

"Sister? You only mentioned a brother."

"Yes, there is a sister. And she was insistent that Jack deserved a chance ever since we learned of his existence. You have a strong ally in that girl. And in me. I know for a fact that talking to Amber will solve a lot of questions you might have for your child."

"How?" Kelly asked, her expression reflecting her scepticism. How could a random person answer anything about an other-worldly being like Jack?

"You will understand when you meet her. I cannot share anything more right now."

Kelly remained silent for a few seconds, Castiel's words floating around in the fog of confusion that was her mind these last few days.

As Castiel was speaking, when he mentioned "the sister" her baby kicked. It happened twice...on cue. Not knowing what this meant, but certain it wasn't random, Kelly kept this fact to herself. And was alert to any other such 'coincidences.'

"Castiel?"

"Yes?"

"I never thanked you. For saving me from Dagon… Saving us. And for believing in Jack."

"I did not know the nature of your child until he assisted me in defeating Dagon. Your son is powerful...and good."

Castiel could feel Kelly's heart melting into a large glowing center around her heart...and interestingly, he both felt and saw a smaller glowing center radiating outward from within her belly.

"You know… When Dagon lost it on me and told me I wouldn't survive the birth… That it would kill me, I thought you people were right. I thought Jack was indeed evil like you tried to convince me the first time you found me. And I was so desperate, Castiel. I tried to kill myself. But Jack… He saved me. He healed me. And I felt his love in that moment, clear as the day. I don't care that I'll never get to see him grow. All I care about is that he comes into this world safe."

Listening to this woman's desperation and ordeal, Castiel was reminded of the old times...of the early biblical incidents routinely visited upon mankind to instill fear, respect and awe into a straying population. His father had a sense of the dramatic and often didn't spare his creations misery. At the time Castiel didn't consider any of this. He was a Soldier of Heaven. But now…

Glancing over at Kelly, Castiel felt a strong affection for this woman...this good and kind woman who was bringing forth a good and kind child...who could destroy or save the world in equal measure. Why did this have to be so dramatic?

A thought crossing his mind, the angel realised something important hadn't been addressed.

"Who will take care of him, Kelly?" He had enough sense not to add 'when you die'. Kelly would understand what he meant.

Kelly didn't reply immediately. She lowered her eyes to look at her round abdomen and realised she hadn't thought about that. Feeling an intense kick she gasped, then smiled.

Turning to the angel she asked, "Would you like to feel him? He's kicking pretty hard right now."

Castiel glanced at her uncertain of what he should do. Of what he wanted to do. He wasn't particularly comfortable with physical contact, even after all the years he'd spent on earth with the Winchesters.

Taking his right hand off the wheel he reluctantly reached for the woman's abdomen and Kelly guided his hand onto the side of her stomach where the baby was kicking. Castiel allowed this, not so much because Kelly had asked, but because he felt drawn to do this. As soon as he touched Kelly's bump a strong kick met his hand. Castiel drew in a sharp breath. This was his first ever experience with the miracle of human procreation. Even when this wasn't a typical human life growing inside this woman, the sense of goodness and clarity he'd felt earlier from Jack returned full-force. Only this time he was feeling something else too. An intense connection he'd never experienced with anyone before.

Kelly felt Jack's energy stir inside her, yet again. Castiel's eyes had never left the road ahead, and he never witnessed the woman's eyes glowing golden upon his touch. Kelly drew in a sharp breath when the warm light pulsating inside her, it engulfed her mind and vision. She struggled to clear her vision, bringing a hand to unconsciously rub at her eyes. When she opened them again she wasn't seeing the inside of the car or the road spreading out of the windshield. She saw Castiel with a handsome young man. She knew the moment she saw him that it was Jack. And she knew the moment she saw him beside Castiel in her vision, the immense role Castiel would play in his life. The image started to fade and she slowly came back to the here and now, inside the car, with an angel's hand on her belly and with Jack stirring inside of her.

"It's you. It's going to be you," she said quietly, turning to look at Castiel.

"What?"

"You are the one, who's going to take care of him. Guide him. You're the only one who can."

"Kelly… I am not a person you should put your faith in. Especially with something as precious to you as your son."

"I'm not anything special either… Yet I was blessed with Jack. You and I… You and I, Castiel, are destined for something great. Jack's destined for something great."

Castiel drew his hand back onto the steering wheel and kept his face expressionless.

"I wish I had your faith," he said quietly.

"You will, Castiel. You will."

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God this was uncomfortable!

Her back against the headboard of her bed, the metal rail digging into her back at the wrong place, was adding to her discomfort. Her brothers were each sitting in a chair facing her. To Amber it felt like an interrogation. This was not where she'd expected to be when she left a mere 72 hours ago.

A déjà vu swept over Amber as this scenario brought to mind her first week in the bunker...after she'd instinctually teleported back from where she was being held by Crowley and Rowena up in Canada. She was different now, but god, this was too embarrassingly similar.

"Amber, let's start with why you left." Sam had decided to get this little meeting rolling and he was going to officiate since Dean was very likely to blow a gasket and get off topic if Sam didn't keep their talk from going off the rails.

Drawing her knees closer to her chest, Amber glanced up at Sam through her hair. As the tips of her bangs got into her eyes and made her blink, she briefly thought about having to cut it soon. Shaking them out of the way she brought her focus back to her brother's question. Escapism wasn't a good road to go down right now.

"You both know why I left, Sam, so I don't see the point of this question."

"No, actually, we don't. You didn't bother to discuss anything with us before zapping out of here. You didn't bother telling us what got you so worked up that you felt you had to just disappear on us," Sam countered evenly. He knew his sister's patterns by now, her defenses, her passive-aggressiveness when she felt cornered, especially when she was in the wrong. And he was determined to not let her derail this discussion, just like he wouldn't let Dean.

"So, I'm going to ask you again, why did you just leave?" Leaning forward in his chair, elbows on his thighs, hands clasped beneath his chin, Sam's expression was steady, his mouth was a compressed line of meaningful expectation.

Sighing deeply, as if she was dealing with mental defectives, Amber was feeling this whole discussion was an exercise in redundancy.

"I heard you talking with Cas, Sam. I heard you talking about killing both him and Kelly in order to buy me a pardon from the angels. After all of our discussions, knowing how I feel about this, knowing how I don't want him killed, how I think he deserves a chance at a life… After all of this, you just went ahead and agreed on that fucking deal. Not bothering asking me."

"When?"

Dean's single word question caught her off guard.

"When, what?" Amber asked back, eyeing Dean a bit more apprehensively.

"When could we possibly ask you? You overheard half of our conversation and decided you had all the intel you needed. We planned to come and talk to you, to devise a plan with you. We sure as hell wouldn't and won't kill Kelly, She's a human. An innocent in all of this. As soon as we were done talking to Cas, we'd come to your room to share all that with you, but guess what… You were gone before we had even finished talking."

Dean's tone was hard. He wasn't yelling -yet- but he was pissed and this was clear in his voice and his tense face.

Amber clenched her jaw at her oldest brother's words. She wanted nothing more than to tell him that this was bullshit. Yet, she could feel he was being honest. And it was the first time she hated the fact that her powers allowed her such an insight. Reading the honesty of his words, their anger and disappointment… It was all crushing down on her. This wasn't working in her favor. Not at all.

Amber was getting images and emotions pouring out of her brothers...each one a bit different, both deeply upset with her. They felt wronged by Amber's actions.

"Well, why should I wait? Would you? You've been consistently ignoring my point of view in all of this. You kept talking about you're not going to risk letting him live, about him being evil… What did you expect me to think after hearing what I heard? After hearing you talking about even sacrificing Kelly's life in place of mine?"

"You shouldn't have heard that conversation though, should you? You weren't a part of that conversation," Sam snapped. "You would've been a few minutes later, but you never allowed us to do this, did you?"

Amber turned to Sam, her stomach clenching at his rising volume. Sam didn't yell, and this was close to yelling.

Taking in a steadying breath, Sam managed to bring his voice down a bit before continuing, but not bothering to hide his frustration.

"And this keeps happening, Amber, again and again. Jumping to conclusions, running away instead of coming to us, even if it is to fight. When have we ever turned you down to discuss or argue over anything that might bother you?"

Hearing the truth of Sam's words was deflating Amber's indignation. He was right...they had always discussed things with her, included her.

Looking downward as she listened to Sam's argument, Amber's face was clouding with confusion and a realization that she'd really screwed the pooch with her impulsive decision.

Sam, needing to get an answer, prompted her forward.

"So, since this keeps happening and...and I'm...at a loss of how to stop this. Amber, this has to stop. How can we stop this?"

"I have a few ideas," Dean replied, glaring at Amber.

"That's your fucking answer to everything, Dean!"

"Hey! Watch your mouth. You're not seriously arguing with us right now? You're the one who jumped ship. Jody had to find you and drag you back here and it's not like she doesn't have a million other things on her plate."

Mouth grim, brows glowering over dark eyes, Amber was listening...although it was hard.

"So… You eavesdropped and just gathered your stuff and left," Sam surmised. "Where did you go?"

"You already know I was in Reno. Jody told you. She told me she told you."

"No, Jody actually told us she learned you were gone from Kyle. So… How did Kyle know?"

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!

Amber swallowed with difficulty, her face shifted to fear and felt her stomach churning. She knew they'd go there sooner or later, but she wasn't looking forward to any part of this conversation.

"I teleported to his place," she answered carefully.

"You what?" Dean growled at her sitting up straighter in his chair.

Before he could continue, Sam did the math his brother didn't bother to do.

"How?" Sam was calculating how this logically progressed, even though logic wasn't part of her decision-making.

"What do you mean, how? I can teleport, for a while now. You both know this!"

"You can teleport anywhere you want, yes. As long as you know where you're going. So how did you know where Kyle lived, Amber? I don't think you've ever asked us to go to his place."

Amber desperately tried to think of an explanation for this. Her brothers could see the wheels turning and weren't sure if this was a good thing or more lies. A shift in Amber's face let them know this may be different. She had nothing and her face's expression, her whole body's expression, became resigned.

"Answer the question!" Dean snapped, his frustration steadily climbing.

"I… I had teleported there accidentally once before… No! Don't look at me like that! Accidentally! Like with Emily that first time."

Both of her brothers were looking at her with an angry skepticism. It was hard to face.

"And why are we just now learning about this?" Sam asked, fighting to keep his own temper in check. Just how much more had she been hiding?

"Because Sam.." And here Amber started to blush…"This. Dean, you, it would all end up like this."

"Is that how it ended when you accidentally teleported to Emily? Because that's not how I remember it," Sam answered.

"When did this happen?" Dean asked next.

"The other day… You and Sam were away looking for Kelly."

"So you coincidentally angel-proofed your room that very day?" Sam asked, starting to doubt how accidental her teleporting to Kyle had really been.

"So Cas already ratted me out?"

"Ratted you out? What are you, five? And what did you expect? We trusted him to keep an eye on you and Claire and this happened under his watch. Of course he'd tell us. As he damn well should! Is that why you angel-proofed your room? So that you could zap out of here without him noticing?"

"No!" Amber snapped back. "What I told him was the truth! I just needed some damn privacy. He keeps trying to read my emotions, my thoughts, it's unbearable! He keeps out of your heads, but he doesn't keep out of mine. I just needed to know I could have some mental privacy when I wanted to."

Amber's sincerely was evident and her words passed through the brother's minds.

"Plus, what could happen inside the bunker? It's the safest place to be. It's not like he'd have to barge in to save me from Lucifer or anything."

"Seriously? You just told us you accidentally teleported away and you're trying to tell us nothing could happen inside the bunker? This could happen, Amber! You, losing control of your powers, zapping outside," Dean barked.

"Your powers take you where the person you want to see is… This has happened when you were trying to escape Crowley, when you wanted to see Emily, and you claim it happened now with Kyle, too. This time It might be just Kyle's place, but what if he was out on a hunt and you were zapped there? What then? What if he was fighting demons?"

"So, how am I supposed to stop my powers doing this when they're spontaneous?"

"We don't expect you to stop that from happening so soon, but we do expect you to use your head! Warding your room from Cas like that, he wouldn't even realise you were missing if you aren't able to return. This is our point."

Sam's pacing was always hard to counter. Feeling her heart sink further, Amber was remembering all the times he'd paced with her, and it didn't end well for her. He was frustratingly smart.

"So, you zapped to his place… You didn't call us, you didn't call Cas… What happened next? You stayed there didn't you?"

Amber's eyes flashed with anger at Dean's question. This was so typical. That's what he was concerned for. Not her safety, not hiding this from them, but what she did with Kyle.

"No, I didn't, Dean. I returned here," Amber said through gritted teeth. "Not that's any of your business!"

"You returned?" Dean was trying to wrap his head around how Amber ended back at Kyle's later on.

"Yes, I returned. Kyle insisted I should return because his house wasn't safe enough."

This backup from Kyle wasn't what either brother had expected.

"So we…" Catching herself she cleared her throat before continuing, "So, I returned here."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa….what's this 'we' stuff?"

Augh! She was dead meat. Shit, shit, shit. Quick...she had to think quick.

"'I', Dean! I returned here. Your questioning is making me nervous. I didn't mean we. I meant I."

Sam watched her looking away for the briefest of microseconds and noticed her face flushing.

"Do we have to bring Cas in?" He simply asked.

"I think you and I had a very thorough discussion about lies, Amber. And I think you've fed us enough of those."

Snapping her head to Sam, Amber's face revealed her panic.

"Did you bring Kyle here?" Sam asked. "I will bring Cas in, if I think you're lying," he added.

Knowing what revelations would soon follow regarding Kyle, Amber almost whimpered. There was no way out of this.

Pulling her knees closer to her chest, Amber was feeling so revealed.

"Fine… Yeah, I brought him here. But you should be happy, I did! I was all responsible, not staying at a compromised place but returning to safety."

"With that douchebag in tow! How...goddammit Amber...how is this responsible. Did you even use protection?"

"Of course we…" and here Amber stopped herself and wondered just how much worse she'd manage to make this for herself.

"So you brought him in the bunker, in your room, and you had sex? And you're trying to present this as a responsible decision?"

Having given up, Amber shrugged.

"Would you prefer if we had sex outside the bunker? Is that even the issue here? You guys have sex, why shouldn't I?"

What was the right response to this question? Both brothers' mouths had dropped open in disbelief.

Sam, trying desperately to focus on the positive part of this, that she did use protection, tried to bring the conversation back into focus.

"So now he knows where the bunker is?" Sam needed to know. This was getting more and more complicated...and thick.

"No. No he doesn't. I teleported him here. He didn't see where we're at or anything. We just zapped straight into my room."

"Oh, you just zapped into your room, awesome. This makes it so much better," was Dean's response, dripping with sarcasm. Sam was seething

"It does make it a bit better," Amber said gloomily.

"You barely know the guy…" Dean started, but was cut off by Amber.

"And you what, Dean? Date all your hook-ups for weeks before screwing them? Is that what you did on Christmas day?"

"I don't bring them to the damn bunker, do?! ! What if he tried to figure out where we're at? What if this location was compromised? The bunker is our biggest asset in all of this. Did you even bother considering that possibility?"

Amber remained silent at that. No, she hadn't. She trusted Kyle. And she shouldn't have trusted him. And Sam and Dean would learn this sooner or later. Fuck!

"Okay… You got a point there… But I trusted Kyle at that point. I really trusted him and I really liked him and I really needed him that night…"

Catching this detail Sam asked, "What's with the past tense? You trusted him at that point? What's changed?"

"You're gonna lose your shi… Oh god." Her intake of breath was setting the stage for something big. Fearful trepidation was growing larger in the brother's minds. What else was she going to add to this?

Here Amber deliberated on the next bomb she was going to drop.

"You're gonna lose it on me…I know it," Amber said, shaking her head and looking at them worriedly.

"Just spit it out!"

Dean's worry was morphing into anger. Running a hand through his hair, looking anxious, Dean was trying to figure out what bigger revelations his sister had that were worse than sleeping with Kyle inside the bunker.

Sam, looking slightly fearful, glanced at his brother. Exchanging a look, Dean got Sam's meaning and did indeed get it together again.

Silence stretched out and it was killing the two men.

"Goddammit, Amber! What's worse...what is he, a hired assassin for the underworld?"

Jaw dropping, Amber's eyes grew large and the look on her face nearly dropped the brothers as it confirmed something...something big like that.

"What? Oh...shit!" Dean's own jaw was till hanging open as was Sam's. Pulling it together, Sam was the first to speak.

"So, Kyle is a hitman or something?"

Stammering, Amber felt unintelligible as he tried to speak. Garbled sounds came out as she tried to form the words. Clearing her throat...between disbelief and outrageous humor, Amber managed to blurt it out.

"He's a demon...and he was assigned to watch over me until Lucifer was ready."

The silent sound of exploding brains hit the vacuumous air in Amber's room.

"Come again?" Dean was recovering his words and trying to make sense of what he'd just heard.

Both brothers were laser focused on her and Amber felt the gravity of her statement.

"Kyle is a demon and he was originally assigned to guard me until Lucifer was ready for me."

And as she spoke these words images of her last conversation with Kyle, his pleading, his sincerity, the color of his energy...Amber was allowing herself to consider the truth of Kyle's change of allegiance. He HAD protected her, many times in fact, and he did seem to be in love with her.

And what exactly did this mean now?

"So, you're telling us that all this time you've been basically dating a goddamn demon?" Dean asked incredulously.

"Well, technically, we weren't dating," Amber answered, lamely. She was sitting pushed up as far against the headboard of her bed as she could, arms circling her knees, lower-half of her face hiding behind her knees, eyes peeking out over the top.

Sam, who'd listened and watched this reveal unfold hadn't been idle. He'd been reviewing in his mind all the times they'd met Kyle. Kyle who had presented himself as a hunter. Kyle, who Jody trusted and had hunted with. Kyle, who had taken Amber to the woods, protecting her at Asa's wake when the demon appeared. Kyle, who had an anti-possession tattoo, which Sam had seen himself. This was mind blowing. The mere thought of all the times Amber had spent with him, vulnerable, in the arms of a demon.

"But he… The tattoo?" Sam managed to ask, trying to wrap his head around what he'd just learn.

"Fake. Discreetly altered in some way to resemble the real thing. And you know… You remember our talk, Sam? Me telling you I was wondering what was his deal and how he somehow knew where I was? How I was suspecting something was off and tried to exorcise him but it didn't work?"

Sam nodded. He did remember their talk.

"It didn't work because he has this lock-body sigil or something…" Amber paused here, gauging her brothers' expressions.

"What I'm trying to say is, I was careful and did what you've taught me to do. I tried to make sure he wasn't a threat. But he was playing me all along, covering all his bases, passing as a young hunter. And he managed to fool not only me but you guys as well. Jody too…"

"So you had also suspected he was a demon and didn't tell us?" Dean asked disbelievingly.

"I wanted to make sure… I mean, that first night at Asa's, I had seen his tattoo, Dean. I didn't exactly think he was a demon, I just wanted to make sure."

Dean's face was grim. He was getting angry not just with Amber but with himself, too. He didn't trust that guy from the get-go. His gut was screaming something was off. And yet he let Sam and Jody talk him out of interfering. And his sister, his little sister, was seeing a demon all this time. He felt his stomach drop just thinking of what could have happened to Amber in this douche's hands. And how could Jody not realise something was off?

As this was unfolding, Sam's mind had been further sorting out the inconsistencies of how Kyle was a demon. All the times Kyle seemed to agree with him and Dean...and was a kind of backup in their concern for Amber, this didn't make sense. Sure, if he was playing the part of protector, this could happen, but he did this way too often and was way too much in agreement with the brothers. He'd felt like an ally of sorts.

It was odd, but he got the feeling Kyle genuinely cared about his sister. And if he was working for Lucifer...well..he seemed to have been conflicted with his loyalties...at the very least.

Sam was sure, given his own history, that he could tell if Kyle had been a demon. Hiding this once or twice maybe, but Kyle had been around Amber, all of them, many times. Sam hadn't seen or felt anything that wouldn've indicated this. Kyle had protected Amber when he could've easily taken advantage of the situation. This wasn't making sense to Sam. As he was sorting through these thoughts he remembered the time he was with Ruby and everything this brought upon him. Upon his family and inadvertently upon the world. Their very first apocalypse. This couldn't happen to Amber. No matter how conflicted Kyle seemed, Amber wouldn't be safe around him. Demons could not be trusted.

Taking in a deep breath, clearing his mind, Sam refocused his attention on Amber and what else they needed to learn.

"OK...Amber, I trust what you're saying, but how did you learn about this? When did you learn about this?"

Dean was over his initial shellshock and wanted to hear this, too. Head more alert, he was listening.

Looking up, Amber sat a bit taller as she lifted her face.

"When I left here and went to his place… I used my grace to empower a binding spell on him. Like I told you, I was suspecting for a while now something was off with him. After leaving here, angry with you for not listening to me, I just needed to know the truth. I felt like I couldn't trust you and I needed to know if I could trust him. With this spell, he had to tell me the truth."

Sighing...dropping her eyes with sadness...Amber continued.

"He told me everything...including that he'd fallen in love with me."

Sam considered this. This made more sense given how Kyle had behaved.

"While I know this can be a powerful force, he's still a demon, Amber," That was all Sam could add to this topic.

Dean, on the other hand, had a lot to add.

"I don't friggin care if he is in love with you, he's the enemy. He's...he's Lucifer's eyes and ears."

"Yeah, Dean, I gathered as much," was Amber's dry response. "Then again you're besties with the King of Hell and his witch mother, who even tried to kill me once…But that doesn't count right?"

"You're damn straight it doesn't count..'.cause I'm not bumping uglies with a friggin demon."

"No, that's Sam's job," Amber countered. She knew she was in deep shit but she wouldn't let Dean's hypocrisy go unanswered.

"Sam gets a pass on doing it with a demon, but I don't?"

"Oh, Sam got no pass on that." Dean's statement was like a sledgehammer and Sam's expression turned to that of shame and discomfort.

"What's important here," Sam said after clearing his throat, "Is for you to realise you can't possibly trust him, or be with him. I think you realize that, too, right? I get he played you. I get that you couldn't know what he was when you started seeing him, but it ends now. Right?"

Amber's expression hardened. Not because she disagreed with Sam, but because she hated when they thought they had the right to make these decisions for her.

"It already ended. And it was my call, Sam, as it should be. Not yours. I'm not so thick as to keep seeing a damn demon who's been lying to me ever since we met. He insisted he changed, that he genuinely cares… But I don't believe him."

Listening to her, Sam's expression was thoughtful. Seeing this, Amber felt the impulse to continue here.

"You know… He said something interesting. He said that I… That my grace changed him. That it made him 'not evil' or something."

Considering what her grace was capable of, that her grace was a vital component of high magic, well, perhaps her grace had the ability to turn a demon.

"He's a frigging demon, Amber! He'd tell you everything to serve his purpose. To save his mission," Dean answered incredulously.

"Yeah, and you were friggin dead and yet, here you are." Amber had to throw that one back because of the absolute improbability of it. And yet, he was living proof that improbable does exist and is walking around every day.

"Amber…While we don't know what your mojo is capable of, we can't risk this. If Lucifer put him into such a high-status position, a guard-dog of who he wants and needs most for his plan, then chances are he's just trying to keep his job."

"Don't you think I've thought about this, Dean?"

Amber's voice was anguished. She'd thought about this already because she'd thought about his plea, that he loved her. That he wasn't what he used to be. And yet, he'd been assigned to ensure she didn't fall into the wrong hands until the time Lucifer decided to put a hybrid nephilim in her. Kyle had originally understood he'd stand by while this happened. How could she get past this?

Tears filling her eyes, Amber couldn't take this. Enfolding her arms over her head, Amber buried her face into the top of her knees and just wept. She loved him. She'd made love with him and it had transcended sex. She'd finally understood what making love was..and she'd experienced this with a...with a what...with a demon?

Sam, even Dean, didn't need angelic powers to feel her pain and sadness. Sam felt for her. Despite what Kyle was, this was for Amber her first serious heartbreak.

Dean couldn't understand why she was so sad for a demon, but he definitely hated it. And he added these tears to the list of reasons he'd hunt that fucker down.

Sam turned to look at his brother not sure how to proceed here and Dean understood why. This conversation needed to continue and it would end in a different kind of tears, but not when Amber was so worked up. With a rare epiphany, Dean stood and put a comforting hand on Amber's shoulder.

"How about we call Jody in and give you two some time to talk this through? I can promise you she'll be much more helpful than we are...for ...ah..this sort of thing."

Looking kind of squeamish, Sam glanced at his brother for confirmation he'd said the right thing and only got shrugged shoulders from Dean. A mild glare of "help me out here" on his face, Sam looked back at his crying sister who had her head still hidden beneath her folded arms. God it hurt to see her like this.

Without knowing what else to do, Sam gently tucked the wet hair that had stuck on her tear-streaked cheeks out of the way and behind her ear, as he turned to look around the room for something to cover her with. It was chilly in here and he needed to leave something to comfort her even if it wasn't his actual presence.

Amber was sitting on the blankets of the bed and this was awkward. Scanning the room, and not seeing anything handy, it made more sense to cover her with his own jacket. Shrugging out of it, Sam draped it over Amber's thin shoulders and rubbed her back as if to create a seal on the placement.

"And we can pick our discussion up when you feel a bit calmer." Sam finished. Glancing back at Dean, the two brothers walked to the door.

Amber, peeked up through her bangs, an expression of surprise in her teary eyes. She was surprised by their actions. This was not what she expected. Lifting her head, and wiping away some of her tears, she reluctantly nodded. A talk with Jody would definitely be preferable over this conversation.

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Jody just sat there, at the end of Amber's bed trying to wrap her head around everything the girl had just told her.

Kyle is a demon?

How...how is this possible?

He was such a good kid?

How did this get past her?

Her recommendation led to this.

This happened on her watch.

Oh god! How had her instincts led her astray?

Amber, watched the woman, eyes still wet from all the crying.

"You're in guilt mode," Amber said quietly, her voice sounding weak.

"What?" Jody was brought back to the here and now by Amber's statement.

"You're in guilt mode, I can feel it. This is not your fault, Jody. Dean and Sam totally missed this. I missed this too..."

Well, this wasn't necessarily true. They'd all had some suspicions, and discussions about their mutual suspicions, but none of them could conclusively see what Kyle was.

"It's not that simple, Amber… Anything could have happened to you and I… I was the one who tried to talk Dean out of not letting you see Kyle. I was the one who vouched for him."

"Come on, Jody… We both know that if Dean suspected something this big he wouldn't listen to you or Sam or me," Amber countered. Scooting closer to Jody she leaned on her, resting her head on the woman's shoulder before she continued.

"And even if he did try to keep me from seeing Kyle, there's no way in hell I'd listen. There's something about him…" Here Amber had to pause and draw a shaky breath in. Managing to keep herself from bursting into tears again she added quietly, "I really fell for him and that's a first for me."

Jody tugged her closer to her side, kissing Amber on the side of her head, accepting the comfort. Amber had a good heart.

"You know, I'm supposed to be the one comforting you."

A thought coming to her, Jody perked her head up, curious.

"So, Kyle kept showing up to protect you?"

Looking up at the sheriff, Amber met her inquiring look.

"Yeah. It was really annoying and...kinda sweet. You know…" Here Amber was looking off to the side, eyes open and recollecting as she was thinking.

"It was like he was really trying to keep me safe. And not just safe, you know, 'keeping me away from other demons' safe. It was like they were his enemy now."

"Well… In a way he was an undercover cop tailing you. He probably did his best to play his part as convincingly as possible while ensuring nobody else from Hell discredited him. I'm sure many demons would do anything to get the job and win Lucifer's approval."

Looking up at Jody, Amber was considering what the sheriff was saying.

Meeting the girls eyes, Jody understood this was deeply conflicting. Now, she had no proof except her own instinct, but Jody was seeing a bigger picture here regarding Kyle. Just like Amber, she felt torn between suspicion and distrust for Kyle, the demon, and a feeling of safety and affinity associated with him.

He was a demon but...and this was an enormous but...he had protected Amber so many times….way beyond merely keeping her secure...he'd kept her safe. He'd acted like he truly cared.

He'd reached out to Jody when Amber went missing from the bunker, when he couldn't possibly know if Amber had let her or her family know what he really was. This would be in keeping with a concerned boyfriend...not merely a keeper. He had risked his own safety and life to help save Amber's. And this was the last thing any demon would ever do.

Selfish, vile intent was the hallmark of demonic action. This had not been Kyle's actions at all.

Still, Jody had no evidence, just her gut feeling. And Amber was too vulnerable and volatile to risk sharing these thoughts with her. She didn't know what kind of decisions Amber would make if she convinced herself Kyle was trustworthy. And more than that she didn't and couldn't know what such actions would result in. If anything happened to Amber, she'd sure as hell not be the cause of it. Jody felt like she had compromised the girl's safety enough as it was by trusting Kyle and encouraging their relationship. She wouldn't be the source of any more problems for any of the Winchesters.

"I'm sure Sam and Dean have already stressed this enough, so I'm only gonna say this once… A demon's a demon. You can't risk it. You understand this, right?"

Looking down again, Amber heard Jody's words.

"I can't believe I've put you in so much risk by introducing you three to Kyle and vouching for him," Jody said quietly. "I'm so so sorry, Amber."

"It's not your fault, Jody. If anything happened it wouldn't be on you… After all I was the one who risked being alone with him, without anyone else knowing."

"Oh honey...I'm glad you realise this. Going off like that to Kyle was a very risky move. Why didn't you come to me? You know you can always depend on me, right?"

Looking up at the woman, Amber was just now realizing she'd had this option...and it hadn't occurred to her at all.

"Well, I...I just didn't think about it. But then again there's no chance you wouldn't call Sam and Dean the moment you realized I'd left."

"I would definitely inform them, but not until I made sure you understood why and you agreed, honey. Just like I did when I found you at Ty's. We talked first and I called them when you agreed, didn't I?"

"Yeah."

Amber lowered her eyes at that as she realised Jody was right.

"I know this now…"

"And you know your brothers are justified in being upset with you, right? You terrified them."

"But Jody, you should've heard them planning on killing Kelly and her baby. Bringing her here and killing her. Killing them both to save me! I just lost it when I heard this."

"And you didn't bother to ask them anything? Cause you know, this doesn't sound like them at all."

"You don't get it. I'd been hearing them planning on killing the baby for days and days. I did talk to them about this and they wouldn't see it my way. It was like they saw any nephilim as evil...and here I am standing right here. I just figured they were planning more of the same, but for Kelly, too."

"OK...I can see this. Amber, consider, by you leaving, and leaving to Kyle's and then to Reno, you added to not only your own exposure, but to everyone's exposure and risk. Had something happened to either one of your brothers because they were out looking for you, how do you think this would affect the rest of your life, hmmm?"

Shocked eyes looking up, Jody could see she'd hit a nerve.

Amber was seeing Jody's thoughts and realized this was a deep fear Jody had for the two men. As good they are, she had this deep fear that she'd lose them. Not surprisingly, Jody held a great deal of grief in her heart for all the osses she'd experienced in her life. And here AMber could see, literally see, Jody felt Sam and Dean were her family...and Amber, too.

Amber also got a glimpse of Jody's imagined idea of Amber's consequences once their talk was over...and it was embarrassing that Jody imagined this at all. She felt Jody's overlying regret that this was the likely scenario with Sam and Dean. This took her off guard and Amber simply had to look away from the woman's eyes. God, Jody knew?! Augh!

Jody could tell Amber was reacting to something and wondered what.

"Hey, what's going on? Amber, look at me. What's happening?"

"I don't want to talk about it. Let's just drop it."

"Drop what? What are you talking about?"

Turning to look the women straight in the eye, Amber was angry and embarrassed. She didn't want to discuss this.

"Jody, I know I'm in big trouble. Let it go."

Considering that she'd just imagined what she felt was inevitable between the three siblings, Jody was wondering how Amber would know this...and then it hit her. Amber was able to pick up feelings. Could Amber see her thoughts, too?

Alarmed, Jody decided this was not a discussion she wanted to have now.

Deciding this girl needed a wakeup call, Jody decided to be straight with her.

"I'm not going to pretend I don't understand your brothers' anger and upset with your actions, cause I do. By leaving the bunker you put yourself in so much danger and everyone else who was looking for you. Hell, I left my deputy in charge of two new hires and he's been on the job less than a year himself. I drove three states over on a hunch. I'll be working every holiday throughout the rest of the year to make it up to these guys. And this worked out. I found you. What do you think would've been the outcome if I hadn't found you and yet I still had all of this invested? If I hadn't found you..or worse yet, found you dead. How would I ever live with this...that I hadn't been able to save you?"

Large eyes and somber expression, Jody could see Amber was considering what she was saying. Satisfied, Jody continued.

"Amber, honey, I love you. You're like a daughter to me, but I am very upset with you for this. We could've lost you. You knew better than to leave the bunker. You had options...even if you didn't think about them, you had them. This is what matters. So yeah, if Dean and Sam punish you for this, I'm fully behind them."

Shifting uncomfortably with this topic...especially with Jody...Amber couldn't reply to any of this. She didn't need to. Even without the ability to read thoughts and feelings, Jody could see she'd correctly identified Amber's concern.

"So, you've told them everything?" Amber asked, eyes not meeting Jody's inquiring gaze.

"No, not everything. Because that's your responsibility, not mine. But I will make sure you don't hide even more from them when I talk to them later."

At the girl's fallen face, Jody put an arm around her shoulders and hugged her tightly to her side.

"Amber, you're not a kid anymore. Part of learning how to be an adult is owing up to your shortcomings and facing the consequences. And I hope you realise these consequences are in no way, shape or form as bad as what would happen to you had you fallen into the hands of demons."

"Yeah...I'd be dead… Or worse, pregnant with Lucifer's nephilim."

"Exactly. You can't keep making these bone-headed decisions, Amber. Your luck will run out at some point and I don't want to even think about what could happen to you."

"And speaking of nephilim pregnancies…" Here Jody paused, thinking of the implications and how to word her inquiry.

"You and Kyle.." Amber cut her off.

"Yes! We used contraception. God...not you, too?"

Jody hadn't known that the two young people had gone there...and this was confirmation that there were still many missing gaps in her own information.

"Oh, I see. Well, can't say I didn't see that coming. But...good to know."

Recalling that she'd had Kyle in this very room...Amber's eyes began to tear up as she recalled their lovemaking. It had been her first time truly making love. It had been transcendent. Jody watched Amber's emotions and felt that whatever Amber and Kyle had shared had been very deep. That Kyle was a demon...had it been her situation, Jody had no idea how she'd handle such compounding implications of what would usually be a natural and beautiful thing.

These memories hitting her heart, Amber felt a wave of sadness begin to sweep over her and she couldn't stop her tears. Covering her face with her hands, Amber was openly weeping...weeping very hard in fact. She was rocking slightly with the emotions coursing through her and Jody recognized the grief of heartbreak. Hugging her closer, Jody rubbed Amber's back rocked her gently as she let the girl cry. She kept rocking and comforting her for several minutes until the girl fell asleep in her embrace. Jody simply kept holding her. There wasn't anything else for it.

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Standing in front of her, she was talking to Amber. She'd been here before, spoke to her before. Amber knew this woman.

"My dearest daughter, your heart is breaking because you've known love. This love is the reward you keep forever. It's a pebble dropped into a pond and it ripples outward and affects everything around it. Your brothers love you and this, too, has ripples that change everything around them. How are you changing the world you move within? You are a force within this world...you have a power to change things by living in it. Pouring a cup of tea can stop a war. You have this power. You are greater than I ever was and you are still a child. LIVE. Your Power is in your very existence. You anchor a dimension of the divine into the ordinary lives of people that, hidden from their own understanding, are extraordinary creatures. They are your companions in this battle. You must trust them. You must live."

Protesting , Amber felt herself restrained by something...unable to fully speak. However, she heard her own words.

"When you left me here, I became this fearful, hiding creature. This wild thing. You said they weren't safe. You said to hide from them. But when I stopped hiding...they showed up. And they've become my home. Why would you lie to me?"

The beautiful woman smiled and faded into a mist. Amber heard a song and a lilting voice, more beautiful than a human voice...and then it was all gone. It was like grasping at a branch as you fell and having it dissolve to nothingness in your grip. She was falling away from these images as they turned to mist.

Still in that paralyzed fog between waking and sleep, Amber wasn't sure where she was. Her mind clearing, her senses balancing, looking around, Amber was recalling her dream.

She'd dreamt of her. It was her mother...her mother had been with her. She felt the images starting to fade...the remembered words from her dream...they were threatening to fade as well. She needed to hold onto those words or she'd lose them. They mattered, even when she wasn't sure what they meant.

Grogginess slowing her movements, Amber pushed herself up from her bed, further orienting to where she was. She was in the bunker, in her room, laying on her bed, still covered with Sam's huge jacket. Jody was no longer with her. Looking over at the desk, her backpack was still there, her notebook was inside.

Slowly pulling herself up, tugging the jacket tighter around her, Amber walked to her desk, rummaging inside her backpack and retrieving her notebook. Searching inside the same pocket for a pen, Amber retreated back to her bed and began scribbling down the remaining fragments of her dream.

Finishing writing everything she could recall, Amber scoffed at a particular phrase. That she was a force with a power to change the world she was living in. She couldn't even change her brothers' mind about giving Jack a chance. Yet this dream experience was identical to the dream she'd a couple of nights ago at Ty's. This was her mother speaking to her. And she felt a glimmer of hope.

Closing the notebook, Amber clutched it to her chest, resting her head against her headboard. Amber let her eyes drift unfocused and just sat there, staring off into space, drinking in the serene state left by the dream. Even after everything that had happened, and everything that was yet to come, she felt centered and calm for the first time in what felt like forever.

---

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"She still sleeping?"

Dean was getting a bit concerned that Amber had been sleeping for over three hours. The brothers and Jody had managed to go through everything they knew regarding Kyle, Jody guilt-tripping throughout their discussion, and even had enough time to prepare and wolf down some much needed sandwiches once they were done talking.

"She's drained, Dean. Not just mentally but physically too. Think of all the long distance teleportations, then driving back here," Sam reasoned.

Jody decided to go check on her and stood up from her chair. Sam, sensing this was her intent, stood too, and companionably the two walked down the hall towards Amber's room. Claire, who had joined them while they were eating, watched Sam and Jody leave. All this concern for Amber. Were they ever this concerned for her?

Dean, eating his sandwich, was watching Claire's face as Sam and Jody left. By now he had a pretty good idea that any concern shown toward Amber was an automatic loss of concern for Clarie. Her world operated on a constant deficit.

"You know…" Here Dean paused to swallow…"When you ran off we were all concerned for you, too." Thinking his own words over he added, "All the times you've ran off, to be exact."

Listening to him, but not wishing to seem like she gave a shit, Claire scoffed and gave off an aloof attitude, rolling her eyes. "Yeah...all those times."

"Hey, seriously, you have been on the receiving end of so much concern and worry, I can't even count the times. One thing you don't have to worry about...it's not your ass on the line this time."

Looking away, Claire understood this ordeal wasn't over. More drama incoming. Managing to shift her focus from her own self, she started to feel bad for Amber.

"Whatever…."

Dean smiled as he watched the blonde get up and head down the hallway, too. Not wishing to be too obvious, but failing utterly, Clarie was concerned for Amber. Still chewing, he smiled around his bite. These two girls...they had an odd way of showing love, but he knew they had a feuding-sibling type of love between them. He remembered some of this from his and Sam's youth. Not as much later on, as he'd had to be more than a brother to Sam, but he remembered, clearly, the fight for emotional resources in a landscape sparse with love.

Shifting his mind, Dean was contemplating the upcoming conversation he and Sam were going to have with Amber. This would be the first time they'd deal with Amber around Jody. He didn't think she would interfere or try to stop them, but it was very personal, particularly for Amber, and now Jody was going to be around this. Oh well, they were family and this was a family issue. He wasn't looking forward to this and Amber had earned this.

Claire's blonde head peeking from the door a minute later, brought him out of his own headspace.

"Jody says you should join them," Claire simply stated, before vanishing down the hallway.

Grabbing the beer in front of him, he finished it off.

"Right."

Getting up Dean felt the need to push the remaining plate of sandwiches to the center of the table, sort of setting the stage for when she entered. As if food wouldn't be obvious.

Standing to his 6'1" height, Dean brushed off the crumbs and headed down the hall.

Amber was feeling slightly claustrophobic...all these people standing in her room. When Sam and Jody had quietly knocked and decided to let themselves in, they'd found Amber sitting on her bed, writing in her notebook...kind of in a writing fuque.

While she wasn't crying any longer, Amber was slipping between her waking recollection and her dream state...remembering details and hearing her mother's voice again as she wrote down everything she could remember from her dream. Not letting herself be distracted, Amber had barely acknowledged them, her eyes briefly glancing in their directions and not appearing to see them as they entered. Clearly Amber was awake and seemed ok. Yet...they were seeing her being hyper focused on writing.

Dean entered and watched Sam and Jody simply standing there, Amber in her own world, pen and notebook in hand.

Walking to stand between Jody and his brother, Dean cleared his throat before quietly addressing the two adults in the room.

"Not that writing in her diary isn't important…"

Jody turned sharply to glare at him, effectively shutting him up.

"That's some stupid stereotypical crap, Dean, even for you," she hissed at him.

"It's her hunting journal, dude. Shut up," Sam said. "Give her a minute. She's not going anywhere," 'Hopefully', he thought silently to himself.

The last image passed from her mind and onto the page...Amber was searching her memory to see if there was a nagging feeling she'd left something out. Scanning the pages, Amber reread what she had down. Her mind still foggy, she read it a third time. Ok...this seemed complete and she didn't feel any memories tapping at the back of her mind to be let in.

Then she was getting images and emotions as if she was seeing other peoples' thoughts. Looking back up, and this time seeing people in her room, Amber took in a startled breath with an involuntary startle reflex.

Seeing this, Jody put up her hands to indicate Amber should calm down and everything was fine.

"I've never seen that level of concentration before. Amber, you didn't hear us come in?" Sam was confirming what he'd witnessed happening. It was very odd.

All Amber could do was stare in disbelief. Had she been concentrating that deeply?

"I was noting down what happened…" She caught herself slipping into her default lying. Amber was in her 'hiding things' mode and she stopped. Looking at her brothers and Jody, Claire peeking into this room for the hallway, Amber was seeing these people anew. Her mothers' words echoed through her mind as she looked from face to face.

"I was writing down what happened in a dream I just had."

"What kind of dream?" Sam asked. Of course Sam would ask this. Dean, looking off to the side contemplated shooting himself. All this girl stuff. Internally, he was ridiculing this and refrained from asking if they'd all braid each other's hair now? Glancing at the others, Dean knew Jody wouldn't appreciate that comment. Nor would Amber, he was sure.

"Don't wanna talk about it right now. It was my mom," Amber stated and hoped her brothers would respect this and let it go.

Closing her notebook, and setting it on the nightstand next to her, Amber sat up straighter. She glanced up at the three adults apprehensively, not sure what to expect.

Glancing around at the assembled crowd Jody was realizing how intimidating this was for Amber. Seeing movement out of the corner of her eye, Jody saw Claire hovering outside the door.

"Claire, honey, how about you give us some privacy here?"

Claire easily read the request that was only phrased as a question. Remembering Dean's warning about respecting other people's privacy, she huffed but heeded Jody words, leaving the room and closing the door behind her.

Stepping to close the door, Sam looked back at Dean and Jody, both adults reflecting back his own 'getting down to business' look.

Looking behind him, Sam pulled out the desk chair and swung it around to face the bed. Dean took a step back to the door, leaning against the Tan Vampires poster. Jody decided she'd sit at the foot of Amber's bed and settled herself down, the mattress dipping slightly as she did so.

Amber's eyes grew larger with each person finding a place to settle for what appeared to be a long conversation.

Amber was feeling cornered. Pulling her knees up to her chest, she needed to feel protected by something between herself and them. She knew something was coming but she hadn't imagined it would be with all three of them.

Sam started them out. "So, Amber, we would like a rundown on everything you did, every place you teleported to and who you were with after you left the bunker."

Seeing Amber start to protest… Sam intervened.

"No Amber. You left and you kept Cas out with angel warding. This seems like one more of your intricate plans."

"I told you already, the sigil had nothing to do with any of this. I'm telling the truth! You can be as mad as you want about me drawing it, but it wasn't done so that I could run away. I hadn't planned this. It's obvious I didn't think this through. We've already established this during our first conversation."

"Ok...let's assume you're telling the truth this time."

An exasperated huff escaped Amber.

"Nah huh. You don't get to be upset with us. We've been busting our hump to protect you and you...you just...what...teleport to Kyles? Then to Reno?" Dean was in a stern mood. He needed answers. They all did.

"Not to mention all the lies we've caught you in during these last couple of months," Sam added.

"Let's try to stay on topic, here," Jody intervened. "So… You left here, went to Kyle's, learned that he was a demon and left his place, too. Then what?"

"You already know this, Jody. And I'm sure you've told them, too. I went to Reno, to Ty's."

"Which was even more stupid," Dean commented not bothering to hide his upset. "A civilian's house? Really? With the goddamned Satan's army, and half his demons, after you?"

"I warded the house…" Amber tried to counter, but Sam interrupted her with a scoff.

"Come on, Amb. We all know a few sigils won't keep higher class demons out of anywhere. Let alone Lucifer. High magic is needed to succeed. Magic like the one set up in this place. And nowhere else in the world."

Silence was Amber's response. She had warded Ty's place and the wardings had been strong.

"I know it wasn't as safe as here, but it was something," she tried after a few silent seconds.

"It was something against random demons or angels who might've learned you were there, or happened upon you. But even if they couldn't access you, trust me, they'd find someone who could. DO you realise what this would mean? Not just for you, for Ty, too," was Sam's comment.

"Sam! I used hgh magic. Those wardings were very strong." Turning to Jody, Amber extended an arm towards the sheriff. "Ask Jody. warded her car...and we were fine."

"So you're positive these wardings you used were enough for demons like Abadon? Lucifer himself? Any archangels? Can you seriously tell me this with confidence?"

Amber opened her mouth to answer but realised she couldn't vouch for her wardings efficacy. Not that she'd admit this. Becoming quiet...Amber couldn't know for sure. Her warding hadn't been tested.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Dean added, arms crossed over his chest, legs where he stood.

"Your wardings kept us safe, Amber, but that was because we were lucky enough to find you before anyone really dangerous found out you were AWOL," Jody added evenly.

"Why Ty's? Why not Jody's? Why not your own old place?" Sam asked next, trying to keep his tone even.

"Because… Because Ty's the only person in this world I trust as much as you, guys. And when I left here, I felt I couldn't trust you anymore. And I desperately wanted to be somewhere… With someone I'd feel safe with. Kyle wasn't that person. So Ty was all I had left."

"You could trust me, Amber. We talked about this, remember?" Jody said.

"And like I told you, I didn't even think about coming to you… And even if I did, I wouldn't trust you not to call Sam and Dean," Amber answered weakly. She knew none of this helped her case, but she also knew there was nothing she could possibly say that would alter the course of this discussion. She'd screwed up and she was seeing this, even if she hated to admit it.

"And who else was there?" Dean then asked.

"What?"

"Who else was with you at Ty's?" Dean asked impatiently.

Amber turned to Jody questioningly.

"I told you, I only told them what I had to. The rest is your responsibility to share, not mine. So start sharing. Everything."

Jody, stressing the last word with her tone, made Amber realise she had little choice but to admit to everything, even the smaller stuff she'd hoped she'd be able to hide.

"It was Josh," she mumbled after a few minutes.

"Josh?" Dean exclaimed. "You felt you couldn't trust us but you called that little piece of sh…"

"I didn't call him, alright?" Amber cut him off, raising her voice in frustration. Gulping at the warning look he shot her she took in a deep breath and fixed her tone.

"I didn't call him. Kyle did…"

"Kyle?" Dean spat the name confused.

"Yes, Dean, Kyle. After calling Jody he called Josh too. I guess he suspected I might've gone to Reno."

"Why would he suspect that? And how did he contact Josh?" Sam asked, looking confused.

Shit! Hadn't she told Sam about sending Kyle to Reno? She was losing track of her own lies and omissions.

"Well… Remember when I accidentally teleported to that cafe where Emily was?"

At Sam's nod she continued.

"He told me demon activity was spiking in all the areas I've ever been, Reno included. I had called Ty a couple of hours before this random teleportation happened and he told me he'd run into Josh. So I got worried about both of them. I told Kyle about them and sent him to check on them. Which he did. That's when he met Josh. I guess he kept his contact."

Filling in the gaps Sam was getting angrier and angrier. He was recalling that discussion he'd had with Amber, a discussion about lying and hiding things from them. It seemed that even as they'd had that discussion, Amber was still lying to him. Straight to his face.

Amber chanced a fast glance up at him, not needing to read his mind to know what he was thinking. The look on Sam's face made her gulp and she quickly looked away.

"So, Kyle called him and Josh came to Ty's to see if you were there?" Jody asked for confirmation.

"Yeah," was Amber's quiet response.

"So what, you two spent the night together?" Dean asked, his tone clearly insinuating what he meant by "spent the night".

Daring a scowl up at him Amber answered through gritted teeth, "We spent the night talking, Dean. All three of us…"

Jody, clearing her throat, made Amber turn to the woman pleadingly.

"Amber...Everything."

At Jody's emphasis, both Sam and Dean looked at their sister with accusation. What else was she hiding? Huffing, Amber resigned.

"Fine… We spent the night talking and getting wasted. And… I told them everything. About what I am, who's after me and why, and about you being my brothers, not my father and uncle… Well, Ty already knew about us being siblings, but Josh didn't."

Amber brought her eyes up, reluctantly looking at the three adults, after dropping the last bomb of the evening.

"Goddamnit, Amber," Dean said quietly, shaking his head. His voice was low. Lower than what Amber was used to. Dean's low and controlled voice was triggering panic. A yelling Dean was nothing to bat an eye at. But an angry, quiet Dean, that was a whole new level fury.

Sam was glaring at her, unable to school his expression anymore. It wasn't often that he'd lose his temper and feel this angry, but Amber had managed to bring him to that point yet again.

Jody's look of disappointment was the last straw.

"I'm… I know it's lame and too little too late, but I'm sorry," Amber said, voice trembling. "I've totally fucked up. I'm really sorry…" Amber's face was growing white...chalky.

Leaning back where they each sat, Dean and Sam were each measuring their assessment of this situation. All of it.

Sam got up and, walking over to the door, looked back at Amber with an unreadable expression on his face that she'd never seen before. Tapping on the door frame as he stood in place thinking. Deciding something, he grabbed the doorknob and left the room.

Dean and Jody, watching Sam's exit, turned to face Amber with accusatory expressions. Amber felt her stomach drop. Was Sam abandoning her? Had she finally done it? Had she driven him away? What now? God, how did she get here?

Frightened, a single tear began to trail down from Amber's left eye. Wiping it away, she sniffed and turned her face away from view. She had to be strong...and this is the last thing he needed, tears.

Dean, having watched his brother take some time away to contemplate this entire situation, decided this may not be a bad idea. Glancing at Jody, and receiving an understanding expression from her, Dean got up and quietly left the room, too. Amber was panicking.

Eyes huge, mouth dropped open with disbelief, Amber turned to face Jody.

Jody knew this was a turning point for the brothers. They'd been busting their asses for months for Amber...and Claire. They'd upended their lives for their sister and had repeatedly shown her their support. What more could they do? Jody felt the men's feeling of betrayal and helplessness to change anything.

Turning her focus to Amber she felt a tug in her heart. The look on Amber's face was one of agony. Jody had seen this look on so many faces during her career. The face of someone who felt they'd lost everything. She watched the girl's chest starting to rise and fall faster and faster, tears escaping her eyes and lips stubbornly trembling but refusing to let out any sound.

Scooting closer, Jody cupped Amber's face and made her look at her.

"Amber, you need to calm down. They just need a minute, honey. They're not going anywhere."

"You don't know that… God, Jody… You don't know that! I fucked it up. I always fuck everything up… Why would they want anything to do with me anymore?"

She was now sobbing, regret and intense waves of fear shaking her body. Why did she always have to react like this? Why would she risk losing the only family she'd ever know?

"Yes, Amber, I do. And yes, you've pushed them to the edge and they need to cool off. But they have been through this with each other, too, you know. You think you come by these impulsive Winchester decisions accidentally?"

Amber heard what Jody was saying, but she wasn't able to stop her tears so quickly.

"What if they kick me out? What am I gonna do?"

"Amber, listen to yourself! Nobody's kicking you out. We're family remember?"

Seeing that the girl wasn't responding to her words, Jody's own eyes glistened at the intense fear of abandonment and pain she saw in this girl. She moved even closer and drew Amber's shaking body into a huge, strong hug. Trying to impart a feeling of security with this embrace,

Jody slightly rocked Amber's upper body a bit. She'd felt Amber's entire life in this hug. For all of her nephilim powers, here was simply a girl who'd been through hell in the system and outside on her own. The life lessons Amber still needed to go through to catch up to what would resemble a more stable life...well, they'd most likely look just like more of this situation. Jody knew the foster care system stunted and delayed so much of the normal maturity and understanding. By comparison to kids who had stable families, foster kids had it so much harder in life. Contemplating this all, Jody kissed the side of Amber's head as she continued to rock this girl.

Jody's right hand stroked Amber's back in wide rhythmic circles as her left cradled the back of the girl's head. Breathing in and out slowly and loudly, Jody managed to lead Amber's breath closer to normal and eased her out of her panicked state. She had learned to do this when Alex first came to live with her. Alex had had intense night terrors and panic attacks for months after she'd come to live with the sheriff. Jody had found, through trial and error, that this was the best way to quickly and effectively calm her down.

"Shhh! You're ok, honey. You're okay. Just breathe in and out slowly…There you go. You're safe here with us and nobody is leaving you, okay? That's not an option for any of us. And that includes you, right?"

Amber, still crying, nodded against Jody's shoulder, soaking in the comfort and the waves of unconditional love this woman was emitting. Amber could hardly understand how someone who'd only known her for a few weeks could have come to care for her so deeply.

Amber began to perceive images coming from Jody. Images of Alex sobbing and rocking in Jody's arms, Claire leaning against Jody's side, and Jody brushing the hair away from Claire's face...all these images were superimposed over images of a little boy and a man who Amber had never met. This feeling of love felt like an atmosphere of deep peace and strength. Amber had never expected to feel love like this.

"I guess. Yeah.… I guess this includes me. Never again, Jody. I swear," Amber managed through her sobs.

Feeling Amber was the slightest bit calmer, Jody broke their embrace and held Amber by her shoulders to take a good look into the girl's tearful face.

"You guess? Amber! You guess this includes you. Honey, you've added to these guys' lives so much...despite your…" Here Jody paused to find the right word. "...issues you're still working through."

Looking at the girl, Jody decided to set a few things straight.

"Do you make dumb decisons sometimes? Yes, you do. Do you frustrate me and your brothers? Often. But consider...when did you ever get the examples and instructions you needed to make good decisions?' When did this happen?"

Amber looked at the woman. It hadn't occurred to her to consider this. Looking off to the side and then back at the woman with questioning eyes, Amber didn't have an answer. Jody understood why.

"You didn't. Not until you came to live with us...this is your first opportunity to really see and understand any of this, right?"

Amber was thinking about the manager at the Woodpecker. This woman did try to help Amber out and even took steps to keep her safe, but it hadn't been one-on-one like living within a family. That hadn't been an option. Besides her, there really hadn't been anyone. Ty, sort of, but he was still growing up himself. Josh's dad sort of was an influence, but only as far as her fragmented relationship with Josh allowed.

Looking back up at Jody, Amber's tearful face showed she'd really thought about what the women had said. There hadn't been any opportunities before now.

"You see, growing up is a process. And good examples with support usually only happened with good living situations. You have this now. Nothing is changing. And for the record, Dean and Sam have had their issues because they lacked a lot of the same things you've had trouble getting. You think John Wicnheter was there to show them how to be a reasonable adult? Heck no! There were times I could see how much they didn't receive in their upbringing, too. So, you're all kind of in the same boat. And I love you all, blindspots included."

Smiling brightly, Jody's little speech warmed Amber's heart.

"Now, do I expect you to learn and get better? You darn right I do. And while I won't be popping you on the bottom, I can completely understand why Dean and Sam would. You seem to have a hard time not lying. And an even harder time confronting situations instead of running away. I back them up and I am holding you accountable for what you do. So, honey, you need to be held accountable and learn from the consequences. Please learn from the consequences!"

Seeing the girl's face more stable, Jody hugged this wonderful young woman again. And once again, Amber wished Jody had adopted her years ago.

Getting up, Jody seemed in need of moving.

"OK. I'm going to go see what your brothers are doing and get a cup of coffee. Why don't you walk around, too. Go splash some water on your face."

With a motherly pat on Amber's cheek Jody walked out of the room.

Amber sat there on her bed, silently absorbing all that she'd heard from Jody. This was a huge download of understanding and she felt a bit jumbled up inside, but not in a bad way. Like a new installation of code to patch a glitch in her system, Amber felt herself temporarily all mixed up as things sorted themselves out into this new found alignment. She felt an odd tingle at the top of her head. It felt good and familiar in an odd way. Her tears had stopped and she was feeling a fresh intake of life.

Getting up Amber went across the hall to the bathroom. Yes, some cold water on her face would feel good.

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"Dean, she's been in need of consequences for a while now...and this...all of this...we have to address this. But...man, it's a lot," Sam said before taking another big pull from his beer.

Jody was watching the two brothers in this tight discussion about how to handle this bombshell Amber had dropped. She'd been silently watching them for awhile now.

Upon entering the kitchen, and sizing up the mood, she'd glanced at Dean's hand. Jody confirmed Dean was only drinking coffee. She could see he was at the point he'd reach for something stronger and she'd personally intervene if he had. Sam, on the other hand, had opened a beer. Apparently he was confident he wasn't in charge of doling out this punishment. Listening, Jody was internally ticking off the boxes she'd created on her list of what needed to be addressed with Amber.

"I know Sammy. But how long will this time last? I keep tanning her ass, and it works sometimes, but Goddammit...Sam, I just wish she'd stop lying about this shit. I mean, what's the point in busting her ass again if she doesn't trust us?"

"That's exactly the point, Dean," Jody intervened for the first time since entering the kitchen.

Turning to look at her, both brothers met her eyes. They knew she'd most likely come from speaking with Amber. How had that gone?

"What's the message she's gonna receive if you don't bother to dole out consequences?"

"That she won and can do whatever stupid shit she wants to?" Dean answered with his own sarcastic question. "Well, that's the case already, Jody."

"Come on, Dean! You're a smart guy… You really think all there is to this is power-games and teen stupidity?"

At the lack of a response, Jody continued.

"Only minutes ago I had to calm her down from a full-blown panic attack which was caused by her certainty that you'd kick her out. She was sure that this time her actions were enough to drive you away and wash your hands off her. To Abandon her."

The two brothers looked at Jody in shock and disbelief.

"See what I'm talking about?" Dean said with a shake of his head.

"No, Dean, do you see what I'm talking about? Amber hasn't found her place in this family yet. Not because she doesn't want to, not because you two haven't tried hard to make her feel like a part of your family, but because she simply can't trust this is for real."

Sam didn't look surprised with any of these, while Dean looked sceptical.

"I managed to reassure her that you might ring her neck, but you'd never kick her out. She was really terrified you were going to do this. Kind of surprising for someone who'd survived on her own since she was thirteen. It must have been really hard."

"I imagine it was," Sam reflected on how their sister had been living when they'd found her.

"Guys, you and her might have some things in common in terms of how all three of you grew up, but you need to remember how much harder she had it. You two are a work-in-progress, but not as much as your sister is. She hasn't received much of a foundation to draw upon prior to meeting you guys."

The brothers remained silent, waiting for the woman to continue sharing her perspective, grateful for having her in their lives.

"You know that kids in the foster care system don't mature in the same ways as other kids. I see it everyday at work," Jody continued.

Sam nodded affirmatively, as expected. Jody had no doubt he'd done his homework on foster kids when they learned about Amber's past. Dean on the other hand, even with Sam to educate him on these things, looked lost.

"OK, so you guys didn't have much of a family life, but you at least had a father, a father you knew and who taught you how to do things. You also had other adults in your life. Bobby seems to have been like a second father to you boys. Imagine for a second what your life would've been like without Bobby?" The look of dismay on both of their faces told Jody she'd touched the right nerve.

"Exactly."

"And as bad as it was, this is a huge step up from what most kids in the foster care system get. Each home is different and some foster care parents do it right, but most either don't bother or aren't emotionally equipped to give these kids what they need. And the worst part is what you two are dealing with right now."

"And...so what, Amber is broken?" Dean was contemplative but impatiently wanting Jody to get to the point.

Taking a breath to gather her thoughts, Jody had the audience she needed to get this point across.

"Yes, Dean, in a manner of speaking, but not how you think. Geez, you guys have been living with Amber all these months. Haven't you noticed this stuff?"

Dean looked insulted, but he didn't say anything. He was at a loss here. Sam, on the other hand, had a few ideas.

"I know that kids who grow up in the foster care system can have trouble forming relationships, normal bonding and trust even when there is real caring and love coming from a care-giver."

A light in her eyes with an affirming smile, Jody looked like she'd found the sharp knife in the drawer.

"Exactly. And that window of opportunity to form emotional bonds is open when they're young, really young. Once this window closes it's much harder for them to form these relationships in a way that other people can respond to. And take into account that by the time these kids land in a home where they have an adult who really cares, they already have serious issues trusting them. Lying is a survival mechanism, you know part of the landscape of this environment. Kids aren't stupid. They get burned often enough they stop putting their hands in the fire. You get it? And it doesn't matter if this fire is there to keep them warm and save their life, at that point they only see the burning and not the saving."

Seeing that Sam and Dean were still listening to her, Jody felt she'd made a breakthrough here.

"And through this learning curve, this HUGE learning curve, they're going to make a lot of mistakes. The usual type all kids make but with the added burden of this distrust of the very people trying to help them out. So, it stands to reason that in order to kind of catch up to what kids from more intact families have, it will take them much longer to get there. Repeating the same mistakes over and over in order to test how much their caregivers really care."

Sam and Dean both looked a little calmer now, and a little more hopeful.

"So, you see, this is not you failing her… This is not her not having a care in the world either. This is a girl who's only ever known how to hide and lie, struggling to find a place in her newfound family. Struggling to let her guard down and to trust. And she's doing better on so many levels and in such a short time… You can't deny this. And she has so much more at stake now with Lucifer after her, all these demons chasing her...Learning that the boy she loves is a part of this threat. Man, that would drive me to my knees." Jody was painting a clear picture of where Amber was at.

Dean wondered, "So what do we do?"

"You keep doing what you've been doing. Consistency in expectations, consistency in showing you care, consistency in the limits you set and the consequences of breaking them… This is the only way that Amber will learn to trust you. Which is why you can't possibly let this go. All this would achieve was make her doubt you, your love, your devotion. Amber's not like Sam, Dean," Jody added this last bit in a gentle caring tone causing both brothers to look up surprised.

"Sam had you in his life since day one, always there, always caring, always protecting him, teaching him. Amber just found you two. You can't expect her to learn as fast as Sam did. Sam has been your first experience in caring for someone, in raising someone, but Amber… Amber is someone entirely different for all the reasons we've already discussed. Don't set your expectations too high. That's not fair to her and it's not fair to you, either."

Dean's face was now somber with realisation. He felt anger for everything that had happened to his sister leading them here today and he felt angry with himself too, for even considering giving up.

"You think she'll ever be able to really trust us? To really feel safe with us? To...to stop these goddamn knee-jerk reactions?" Dean finally asked Jody.

"I do," Jody replied with confidence. "Amber will get there. We'll all help her to get there."

Jody's mind jumped to all the research and studying she had done throughout the last couple of years to be able to help Alex, but mainly Claire. Amber reminded her of Claire in many ways and most of the things she'd said applied to Claire, too, even if her background was very different to Amber's.

"And Claire will, too, if she lets herself," Jody added after this thought, sighing with thoughtful exhaustion.

Right outside the door, hearing footsteps coming from down the hallway towards her, Claire decided she'd better go into the kitchen, not wanting to be caught eavesdropping again.

Upon hearing this informative conversation happening as he was about to make herself a sandwich, Claire had decided to stay put just outside the doorway and see what she learned. She felt jarred into more of an awareness as a result of this. Glassy-eyed, she'd kept silent, listening. Without even knowing everything she was hearing, Claire felt the deep authenticity of this and was touched. Jody was amazing. She also felt sad reflecting on everything that was stated about Amber and then herself. It was a strange feeling to hear tough stuff that pertained to her while also hearing loving support expressed right beside it.

Schooling her expression, Claire stepped into the kitchen nonchalantly.

"What will Claire do?" She asked, lacing her tone with suspicion, pretending she'd only heard these last few words of this discussion.

"Claire will tell us how much she knew of what Amber hid all this time," Dean answered with a raised eyebrow.

"I've no idea what you're talking about. How would I know what she told you? I was kicked out of the room," Claire answered, crossing her arms against her chest, glaring at the man.

"So you didn't listen in on our discussion?" Dean asked again, suspiciously.

"No, jerk…"

"Claire!" Jody intervened, her tone warning.

"What? He is! I went to my room like you asked me to," Claire protested.

The kitchen door creaking open once more made all four sets of eyes turn to see Amber taking a cautious step inside.

Claire noticed how drained she looked, her face puffy from crying and her skin pale.

Jody smiled upon seeing Amber entering. This was a huge step forward from their conversation of a few minutes back. Her eyes scanning from Jody's welcoming face to her brothers', Amber was unsure if she should even be in the kitchen. Claire watched this interaction quietly.

Directing an accusatory glare at Dean, Claire could hardly believe they had managed to work Amber up so much even before Dean "dealt with her", as he liked to put it. Walking to the sink she filled a glass with water and handed it to Amber without even asking her. Jody watched this and was stunned. This was not characteristic of Claire. Nice, friendly...but so not typical of her. Jody was suspicious, but didn't push this. This could be good...perhaps.

"You okay?" Claire asked her quietly as Amber accepted the glass.

Amber only nodded, offering a hint of a smile to Claire. This was the Jekyl to Claire's Hyde. She'd take it while she could.

"Hey," Sam offered in a subdued tone, his eyes quiet and steady. He was trying to set a calmer tone.

Amber couldn't bring herself to answer. She didn't know how to navigate this. She'd been there before, but all the previous times she'd been angry, indignant, feeling wronged. But feeling guilty and sad when in trouble, this was a first.

"Sit down, Amber," Dean instructed.

His tone was even and Amber wondered if Jody had managed to smooth things out for her after all. Sitting down at an empty space around the table, one far enough from both of her brothers, she lowered her eyes, staring at her still full glass of water.

"I'm not gonna pretend we're not mad as hell for all the crap you've pulled… But let's set something straight. There's nothing you could do that would make us kick you out, do you understand me?"

Listening, Amber was taking this in and kept silent.

"Amber, Sam was lurking around with his demon girlfriend to shoot up demon blood, then caused the first Apocalypse and I kept him around," Dean stated emphatically. He didn't deem it necessary or useful to mention he had actually kicked Sam out when he'd learn he'd lied to him about having stopped seeing Ruby. Not only had he bitterly regretted that particular reaction to his little brother, but this would defeat the purpose of this discussion.

Completely ignoring Sam's hissed "Dean" he continued addressing his sister.

"I need you to get this in your head. We're family. And family sticks around for family, even when they screw up royally."

Amber, not trusting her voice enough to speak only nodded, trying hard to wrap her head around this.

Bringing Jody's words from earlier to the front of his mind, Dean continued.

"I don't care how many times we have to bust you for stupidly risking your safety, each and every time we will. You're important to us and we're here for the long haul."

Amber turned from Dean to Sam, as if expecting his confirmation.

"You're stuck with us, Amber. "

Listening to this, a wave of relief began to work its way out of her body, her heart feeling this big energy building around it. Amber's eyes were beginning to tear up. Her face was going red and she felt self conscious at this involuntary emotional reaction. Gulping and sniffing, she wiped at her face.

"Are we clear on this? I need you to confirm this," Dean spoke again, his voice modulated and steady.

"Yes… You're clear," Amber quietly answered, her voice thick with the emotions she was still working through.

Jody saw what was happening for Amber and stepped closer to the girl, putting an arm around her shoulders, giving her an encouraging hug. Amber glanced up at Jody and managed a slight smile through watery eyes. Sam saw this, too, and smiled at this scene. God they were so lucky to have Jody with them.

"Good, now get your ass to your room and stay there. I won't be long."

Dean didn't need to say anything more than that. This simple statement informed everyone of what would happen next.

A sudden shift in her emotions, Amber was flushing red, but this time with embarrassment. Not daring to argue, Amber stood and left the kitchen hurriedly.

Turning to Claire next, Dean addressed her.

"You too, Claire. I need to discuss a few things with Sam and Jody."

"Not a chance," Claire answered, heatedly.

"You want to try that again?" Dean was not in a mood to be messed with.

"You're being a jerk! She's a mess, she obviously realised how much she fucked up and you're still gonna…" Here Claire trailed off, not wanting to speak the words.

"I'm gonna do what I would've done had it been you in Amber's position. And just like Amber wouldn't get a say in any of this, you don't either. So you're gonna get to your room or you and I will have a little talk of our own when I'm done with Amber."

A look of disgust crossed Claire's face as she resentfully headed out the kitchen door.

Once alone, Jody turned to Dean. "Give her a little time. That was a bit of whiplash don't you think?"

"Definitely not her usual MO," Dean agreed, eyes darting to the door that had just slammed closed..

Sam, knowing they needed to discuss this, brought the topic back to his concern. "She's pulled a lot of things. A spanking only isn't going to cut it."

"Well, there's no point in grounding her," Dean remarked. "So what's left? More physical training I guess."

"And we definitely need to up the tempo in her power training. And start encouraging her to use her powers more during our training sessions. Get her out of her "hiding" mode," Sam added.

"Isn't that what she's been doing these last few weeks anyway from what you two have told me?" Jody asked.

"No, after learning about Lucifer we've actually been spending way more time reading lore and researching solutions. She did power training, but with Cas also focusing on finding Kelly she lost a lot of those sessions, too," Sam explained.

"Then it's settled. We're back to 6 am workouts and combat training. Then she's all yours for lore study and research and her afternoons will be spent with Cas for power training," Dean concluded.

Jody knew this was a good opportunity to impart something positive in the name of correction.

"All this sounds reasonable. But you two had better start paying attention to spending some actual time with her. Time not involving training or studying. For heaven's sake, watch a movie, cook together, play a damn board game. Hell, have her perform like she did on her birthday. Man, she's got some crazy- mad performance skills. And she loves singing. You can't expect her to thrive if she's only functioning as a soldier."

Here Jody summed it all up, "Don't make the same mistakes John made with you."

This hadn't even occurred to the brothers. They were going down the same path as John Winchester had taken with them and they hadn't even noticed.

"Jody, you're right." Sam was contemplating everything Jody had just recognized for them...and he was grateful. Dean, not seeing a major problem with training, but knowing he needed R&R too, was working his way through to this conclusion.

"Alright, so we have a plan." Sam was confirming this.

"Yeah I think this works. And she's gonna find it harder to hide stuff from us. Who knows, maybe she'll be our secret weapon," Dean nodded.

Jody, frowning, couldn't hold back. "Dean, let me repeat this. She needs more than training. God, do I need to smack you upside the head? Give the girl some time to enjoy herself with you two. With Claire, too."

"Yeah, Dean." Sam chimed in affecting a childlike, tattletale voice...and it was a bit funny. A chuckle left Jody's voice. Dean grinned the shit eating grin of being caught. The three adults felt they'd worked this out pretty well.

The atmosphere in the kitchen lifting, this was a way forward for them all...and this would build up Amber's skills, her confidence, not to mention her unique place in the family.

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Knocking on her door, Dean listened for anything he might hear. Amber heard his knock and knew this was the moment of reckoning.

"Come in," was a whispered response, barely audible. Dean herald this, turning the doorknob and cracking open the door, entering into this new understanding of his sister.

Amber sat on her bed, guitar over her torso, strumming causally. Dean recalled the many times he'd seen her calm herself with her playing. Jody's idea of Amber's playing in the bunker, this was a good idea he'd pursue.

"Are you calmer now?" Dean asked as he closed the door behind him and walked closer to her bed, trying to ease into this.

Amber looked up at him and assessed his expression, stance, and tone.

"Are you?" She asked back, worriedly.

"Yes," Dean answered easily. "And you have Jody to thank for that."

Small smile forming Amber glanced down at her guitar, gently caressing the strings.

" I owe Jody a lot," she answered quietly.

"We all do," Dean agreed. The two of them remained silent for a few seconds.

Dean looked down at Amber before speaking again.

"Do we need to go over all the stupid decisions you made these past few days?" Rethinking his question he corrected himself, "Or rather weeks?"

Eyes still focused on her guitar, Amber shook her head. "No… I get it. I really get it, Dean."

Reaching over and taking hold of the guitar's brass, Dean nodded, satisfied, as he took the instrument out of her grasp and set it off to the side.

"We have some unfinished business to attend to."

Amber allowed her guitar to be taken from her...her face slumping. This was going to happen, but she didn't have to like it.

"Alright, stand."

Amber's opened-mouth gape surprised Dean.

"Come on, get up."

Making a whining sound, Amber slowly started to scoot to the edge of her bed. God, this was still so embarrassing. Watching her comply, Dean was pleasantly surprised. She wasn't known for showing compliance or acceptance when faced with this. Maybe she was "getting it" after all. Dean allowed her to get to her feet. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Dean looked up at his sister.

"You know I love you and this is hard. And you also know you've earned this several times over, right?"

Not finding herself able to speak, Amber just nodded, cheeks heating with the intense embarrassment this predicament always brought. She couldn't believe she had managed to get herself in this position again.

"Good. Then let's not drag this out," Dean stated resolutely. "We've been here before, you know what to do."

Stricken, Amber's face was white. Awww man, Dean felt he'd need to get this rolling. Grabbing hold of her forearm, Dean pulled her closer to his side. Her resistance was involuntary...this was still a feared punishment even if she knew she deserved it.

"Amber, stop it!"

Not knowing how to stop it, Amber continued to resist. Much like the time she'd asked Sam to spank her instead of grounding her from Jody's, Amber was still in fight or flight mode.

Strong arms pulling her forward and across Dean's lap, Amber found herself face down looking at the floor. Dean had her arm twisted up behind in the small of her back, and he'd clamped one leg over her two, holding her still. Silently screaming in her head, Amber was never ready for this.

Swinging, Dean landed a hard swat to her backside...and he watched her jolt. Not knowing what he should be saying, Dean just focused on this task.

Amber felt this sting and struggled within the tiniest movement she could, given Dean's grip.

"Augh!" Amber had tried to keep quiet, but this was starting to seriously hurt.

Feeling her rock back and forth, Dean increased his grip on her arm, not wishing to give her any more play in her torque. She could pull a muscle if he allowed her to move around too much.

Having already determined how this would go, Dean kept up his swatting of her backside. With each smack he felt a jolt go through her. He'd calmed down a lot since before the talk with Jody, and in doing so was a bit concerned that his delivery would be below attention-getting standards. Clearly it was not.

Amber felt the sting growing in her backside...with this vulnerable position being so humiliating. She was hyper-aware of her bottom being up in the air.

Dean's own emotions were growing and his fear for her life came bursting out. Reading this, Amber felt a million times worse.

"God...I can't believe you did this again. I nearly had a heart attack."

Unconsciously, Dean's frustration and fear added to his strength which added to his swats. Amber was feeling this and wishing she'd never left the bunker.

"Augh! Dean...stop. Stooop!"

"Amber, you earned this."

There wasn't anything more to say. Two more swats and Dean paused for a moment. Amber, tears streaming down her face, was confused and glanced around to see what was happening. Catching the movement of Dean's free arm fiddling with his belt she instantly knew. And instantly went into a panic.

"No! Noooo…"

"Hey, you knew this was coming. All the lies that compromised you...And then just disappearing? Going to Kyle's? Then to Reno? Goddammit, Amber. Lucy could've gotten you and we'd never get you back."

Amber heard this, understood this, but still...not her top concern at the moment.

Deciding he was going to carry this out as he'd planned, Dean placed his belt on the bed beside himself and grabbed the waistband of Amber's leggings. Pulling them down, he was delivering the earned retribution for leaving the bunker, risking her life, lying so many times, and keeping so many vastly important details from them. She'd really accumulated a butt load of retribution.

Belt securely looped in his hand, Dean let the first blow fall, remembering to hold back so as not to leave welts. He'd inadvertently welted her up the last time he'd had to do this, after Denver. And it hadn't been intended. Dean had realised as he'd covered her back up and he'd felt awful about leaving marks on her. He'd promised himself to not let that happen again.

Recalling the many times John Winchester had belted his boys, and the two of them suffering with red, raised welts for days and days after, Dean chose to do things differently. He'd been careful with Sammy when the need had arisen, but he'd occasionally left a mark on his brother. Amber, with her thinner skin,...no way would he go there again.

The crack of the belt reverberating in the room was distinctly different from an over-the clothes smacking. Dean was holding back, but his sister definitely hadn't noticed it.

Secured over Dean's lap, her bare ass feeling the bite of the belt, Dean's thoughts and emotions projecting vividly into her own mind, Amber started sobbing.

Dean's fear for her life and safety was the most predominant feeling he projected and Amber wasn't surprised. What did surprise her, even in her pained and distracted state, was the feeling of guilt he emitted. Self-blame over Amber's feeling of not belonging and her lack of trust in him. And a desperate need to find a way to give her a life of stability and traces of normalcy.

She didn't have much of an opportunity to explore this as she was more concerned with her own feelings. Later she would contemplate this.

Landing another blow, Dean was watching his sister's reaction as he continued on. Her jolts and gasps indicated whatever strength he was using, this was sufficient. The reddening of her bottom let him know he wasn't slacking. A hand grabbing at his jeans leg brought his attention to where Amber's loose arm was. She was clawing at anything and she'd found his pant leg and was pulling.

"Amber, stop that!"

Trying to kick his leg out of her grip, and this doing nothing, Dean realized he needed to wrap up. Bringing the belt down four more times, Dean set it aside and pulled up Amber's leggings. As he pulled them up and over her in the process, Amber gasped. He must have touched her skin. She was bawling and this proved to increase her volume as he maneuvered the waistband back over her throbbing backside.

Releasing her arm from his grip, lifting his leg to release hers, Amber was detangling herself and getting out of this vulnerable position. She pushed herself up and away from him. Tears streaming down her face, She looked away from her brother. Standing and walking to the far corner of her room, Amber stood with her back to the corner, unconsciously turning her ass away from Dean, she covered her face and continued to cry.

Dean would normally give her her space. He always did when she indicated she needed it. But he couldn't today. Jody's words occupied his mind; he slowly approached her, moving quietly so as not to scare her. His hands going to her shoulders, he rubbed them comfortingly before tugging her to him. He didn't let her slight resistance stop him. Once she was brought close to his chest, Amber kept her hands covering her face, but leaned onto Dean and kept crying it out.

Other than offering this comfort, Dean didn't know what to say. In his opinion everything had already been said. Still, Sam had managed to drill into him how important communicating was even after a punishment.

"Wanna talk about it?" He asked her a bit awkwardly.

Amber simply shook her head, face still hidden against his chest.

Nodding, Dean gently released her from his hug.

"I'll give you a minute then. You come find us whenever you're ready and we'll discuss your training schedule."

Amber, unable to look at him at the moment, simply took a step back and nodded. She finally stopped covering her face, using her hands to wipe away the tears, still she kept her head down, looking everywhere but Dean's direction.

Not seeing what else could be said or done at the moment, Dean walked back to the bed, worked his belt back through the loops of his jeans and left the room, closing the door behind him.

What was she learning from this...these repeated punishments? Amber stood there trying to get her tears under control. So many times she'd receive this and ...well...each time she couldn't believe she'd gotten herself back there again. Fifteen years of no spankings and then, bam! Within less than six months, she'd earned herself five.

She stood there for a few more minutes...drifting in her thoughts and then a small whispered thought brought her around.

"They are your companions in this battle. You must trust them. You must live."

Hearing this from within her mind, Amber was brought up short, quieting her sniffling, and she felt these words ringing through her. Her mother said this to her in a dream. It felt recent...but she wasn't sure.

Not knowing what else to do, Amber crawled underneath the blankets of her bed and pulled the covered over her head. She needed to retreat from the world for a while.

Amber slept.

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She didn't know how long she'd been asleep, but she felt ravenous. Now that the worst part of facing her family was over there was nothing distracting her need for food. Sitting up in the dark of her room, Amber felt the sting of her bottom as she turned upright. Wincing, she gently leaned to her side and scooted to the edge of the bed. Getting up, she threw on a sweater and walked out.

The hallway outside of her room was bright and her eyes closed to protective slits as she scuffled down the hallway, listening for any voice or movement coming from within the bunker.

Turning the corner, she heard voices, Cas was in the war room with her brothers. Heading into the kitchen, Amber was brought up short.

A dark-haired woman with the most green eyes sat at the kitchen table picking at a sandwich. Upon her entering this woman's face relaxed into a beautiful smile. She was radiating love and peacefulness...and then Amber realized she was radiating love from two sources: this woman was pregnant.

The next thing that Amber registered was her energy. Or rather her energies. She felt her chest warming up and an almost palpable connection not to the woman herself, but to whoever was inside of her.

"Kelly?"

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Without Jody to be the voice of reason, this chapter would have gone very, very differently. Lol. How did this "reunion" surprise you or was it entirely predicable?

How would this have gone without Jody? Ideas? Scenes you could see in this scenario?

Have you or someone you know ever runaway from home? Did you feel you had no choice? Did this work out for you or your friend?

What would you tell your younger self now, faced with the same circumstances?

Did you ever have someone you doubted, show their genuine love and concern after extreme reactions drove home their misunderstanding?

Have you been the one who learned the hard way? How did this wake you up?

Are you from foster care? Know someone who is? Did they have a decent fostering or no?

As always, your readership and reviewing feedback is our lifeblood in this story.

Be well, Please... ALL of you... Be Well.

You are important here in the world. Stay here with us.

~MarionLuth & LauWhisperer